The case concerns three Iraqi children who had fled Iraq accompanied by their parents, who were intercepted by the police at the Bulgarian-Serbian border and detained (with their parents) in a Border Police detention facility. The Court found that Bulgaria had violated Article 3 of the ECHR (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) by detaining the family in a police station for 32 to 41 hours where the conditions were unsuitable for children. The Court stated that immigration detention of minors, accompanied or not, raises particular problems, as the Court has recognized that children are extremely vulnerable and need specific care.
