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They call it the “cage” or the “jail”. Tucked away in the small Bulgarian town of Sredets is a crumbling outbuilding on the edge of a compound where border forces are stationed.

The floor is often covered with litter, there are no proper beds and at one side are metal bars.

The squalid room is no ordinary prison. People who say they’ve been held inside deny they’re criminals.

Instead, they are asylum seekers who claim they were detained in a makeshift jail by Bulgarian border forces before being forced back to Turkey.

15 October
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15 October

“When they caught us, they beat the hell out of us… they stripped us naked… shaved our brows with a Gillette razor,” said Nackman, a 34-year-old refugee who claims he was detained for several hours in the cage.

“Then there was this wooden room that could only fit 20 people, but they forced 60 people into it; even an animal couldn’t survive in that wooden room. It has the worst odour ever, so if you need to use the toilet, you’ll just go to the side. They won’t look at you with human eyes.”

As part of joint investigation by Sky News, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, Monitor, Domani, SRF and RFE/RL Bulgaria, we filmed the outbuilding five times in October and November 2022.

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Every time there were people inside. On one occasion, a Bulgarian border force officer is recorded opening the door and leading the people out.

24 October
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24 October

We showed the video of the outbuilding to refugees near the Turkish-Bulgarian border. Kenan, 31, instantly recognised it.

“We slept in this jail for three days. They insulted us. When we asked them for bread, they pushed us back, cursed us and I didn’t know what they said. They hit us,” he recalled.

23 November
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23 November

‘They unleashed the dogs’

Another man said he was held there before being pushed back over the border to Turkey.

“After they threw me in the container, they unleashed the dogs. It was me and a young child. He was 12 years old. He was bitten by the dogs and so was I,” he said.

Claims of abuse at the border by Bulgarian authorities are common. A Syrian refugee named Shaddi said on one occasion he was caught by authorities trying to cross through Bulgaria to Serbia.

“They took off our clothing and they put us in very cold water, maybe 10 minutes. And they threw sticks… and they shoot us by plastic shoot revolver. It’s plastic shot,” he said. “It’s unhuman I think… because we are human. We are not animals. We are not terrorists.”

Read more: Refugee shot near Bulgarian border

Asylum seekers claim they were detained in the squalid jail known as the 'Cage'
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25 November

As part of the investigation, reports of illegal pushbacks and abuse were recorded at several EU borders. In Hungary, refugees reported being held for hours tied up outside or in containers.

Speaking anonymously, one man said he was badly beaten by Hungarian police and detained for two days. Similar reports have been told to aid workers at Doctor Without Borders.

“What we started hearing more and more is that people were kept inside such containers up to 12 hours just before being forcibly returned to Serbia. Often kept up to 60 people in such a contained space, in a standing position or in physical stressing positions,” said Alessandro Mangione from the medical NGO.

Asylum seekers near the Turkish-Bulgarian border
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Migrants walk near Serbia’s border with Hungary. Pic: Aleksandar Milanovic

Hungary ‘utterly rejects allegations’

He said aid workers regularly treat refugees for beating injuries caused by officials.

In response to the allegations, the Hungarian authorities issued a statement saying its officials carry out their duties lawfully, professionally, humanely and proportionately.

“The government of Hungary utterly rejects allegations which are once more seeking to discredit personnel on duty at the border. Hungarian police officers and soldiers are protecting the EU’s Schengen borders lawfully and in compliance with EU and Hungarian regulations,” it added.

The Bulgarian government denied any wrongdoing by border officials and said it followed international and domestic laws. It said officials were facing increasing attacks from people trying to cross illegally into Bulgaria.

The European Commission said it took all allegations of wrongdoing at the European external borders seriously, that violence and loss of life was unacceptable, and it expected national authorities to investigate any allegations and to follow up swiftly and effectively.

But the revelations are concerning; people seeking protection are reporting abuse and detention in clandestine prisons – alleged black sites in Europe.

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Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says ‘I lost my husband… I don’t want to lose her’

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Mum of emaciated baby in Gaza says 'I lost my husband... I don't want to lose her'

In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.

“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.

Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing

Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.

But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.

Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns

“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.

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“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”

Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.

Baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza
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Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin

“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.

At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.

Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
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Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital

Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.

The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.

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Children are the worst affected.

Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.

Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.

Aya's nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
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Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.

Lethal spiral

Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.

Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.

It’s a lethal spiral.

This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
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This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born

“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.

“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”

“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.

“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”

Read more:
British doctor in Gaza describes horror
Shouts of ‘genocide’ in Commons

Aya and her mother Sundush
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Aya and her mother Sundush

Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.

The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.

Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.

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Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station

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Police launch 'major operation' after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station

Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.

A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.

The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.

Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.

The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.

Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.

Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

More on Germany

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This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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Israeli embassy shooting suspect ‘fired repeatedly after victims hit the ground’

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Israeli embassy shooting suspect 'fired repeatedly after victims hit the ground'

The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.

Israeli PM attacks Starmer – latest updates

Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.

It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.

Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.

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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’

‘I did it for Gaza’

It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.

Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.

The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.

The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.

The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.

According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.

He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”

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DC shooting: Father pays tribute to ‘perfect’ daughter

Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest

The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.

An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.

The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.

Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.

The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.

Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.

Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.

Read more:
Why Trump will worry about attacker being glorified

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Starmer ‘on wrong side of history’

During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.

He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.

He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.

He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.

Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’

Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.

Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.

“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.

He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.

“They were perfect for each other, he said.

Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”

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