Alarming arrest of Bulgarian doctors on a humanitarian mission in Serbia
14.11.2017
Question for written answer P-007012-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Angel Dzhambazki (ECR)
On 10 November 2017, three Bulgarian doctors were on a humanitarian mission to provide free medical check-ups for the residents of Bosilegrad, Serbia. They were invited by the Bulgarian Cultural and Information Centre in Bosilegrad, as the local authorities have consistently failed the Bulgarian minority in the region by denying them adequate medical services, with some residents often resorting to home treatment. Fifty people came to be examined.
Shortly after the check-ups started, officials from the local Health Inspectorate in Nis, Serbia, entered the premises accompanied by police officers and told the doctors that they had no right to participate in this humanitarian operation. The police authorities then proceeded to arrest the Bulgarian doctors without any explanation before holding them in custody for more than five hours.
— Does the Commission think that this sort of behaviour is justified and in line with European values?
— Does it believe that the Serbian authorities should provide the region’s Bulgarian minority with adequate access to healthcare?