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UK Pilot Pursues Legal Action Over Alleged Two-Week Detention in Bulgaria

The British Embassy in Sofia confirms it assisted the detainee, coordinating his release.

Overview

  • Robert Weaver, 38, says police held him after he reported his passport stolen in Bansko because officers said they could not verify his identity.
  • He recounts being moved to the Busmantsi immigration detention centre for roughly two weeks, sharing a cell with six people and receiving one basic meal a day.
  • He alleges he was refused a solicitor and denied calls to family, eventually borrowing a smuggled phone to contact the British Embassy.
  • Sofia police then helped secure his release, and the embassy issued emergency travel documents that allowed him to return to the UK within days.
  • The embassy confirms it supported a detained British national and liaised with local authorities, while Weaver now pursues a claim of unlawful detention and local police have been asked for comment.