Pilot locked in Bulgarian cell after passport stolen

Horrendous two-week ordeal for Birmingham aviator

- OLIVIA STRINGER News Reporter

Pilot Robert Weaver, 38, (right) who was illegally detained in a Bulgaria for two weeks after his passport was stolen

A BIRMINGHAM pilot has revealed how he was locked up in a Bulgarian detention facility for a fortnight after approaching police to report his stolen passport.

Robert Weaver, 38, was confined in a cell alongside six other individuals, received only one daily meal of rice, and was forced to use a hole in the floor as a toilet, after officers claimed they couldn’t confirm his identity.

The aviator, from Birmingham, was prevented from reaching his wife and relatives throughout his entire detention period, and only secured his release from the cell after a fellow inmate managed to sneak in a mobile phone, which Mr Weaver used to reach the British Embassy.

Mr Weaver said: “My passport was stolen from my hotel room, so I went to report it at the police station across the road.

“The police asked me to verify my identity, I told them that would be a bit difficult with my passport missing, but that I had copies of my identification online.

“They threw me in a cold cell with no toilets or drinking water and the next day I was transferred to an immigration detention centre.

“I shared a cell with six people and if you wanted to use the toilet, you had to ask the guards to take you to a hole in the ground.

“You were given one meal a day, which was basically just rice, and were only allowed outside for 20 minutes to exercise.