Dozens of people, some sedated and with feet tied, rescued from “houses of horrors” in Bulgaria, officials say

Dozens of people were rescued from two illegal care homes where they were subjected to brutal mistreatment, Bulgarian officials said Saturday.

Justice Minister Georgy Georgiev described the facilities as “houses of horrors” and officials described how victims were beaten, bound and sedated.

Some 75 people were removed from two facilities in the east of the country, which the owners had converted into so-called health centers by offering “rooms for rent” for a little more than 400 euros a month.

The ministry released images of the deplorable conditions in the facilities as well as victims being transported away in ambulances.

Georgiev also presented an image to reporters that appeared to show elderly residents with their legs bound together, local media reported. Nineteen people were rescued from one location, and 56 from the other, according to local media.

The regional prosecutor’s office in the town of Stara Zagora said five people had been arrested and an investigation had begun into “kidnapping, violence and negligence”.

“According to testimonies, one older woman had not left the establishment for four years,” the office said in a statement.

“Another resident, who tried to flee, was caught, beaten and left unconscious,” the statement read.

The justice ministry added that some of those rescued had “their feet tied and were sedated” and were locked in rooms “without bedding, the window handles removed and cut off from the outside world”.

Georgiev said inspections of nursing homes and hospices are underway to combat property fraud targeting vulnerable individuals, the Bulgarian News Agency reported. 

“These revelations are linked to ongoing investigations into property mafia schemes involving helpless people,” he said.

International organizations often criticize the poor state of health facilities in Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union.

The lack of facilities for older people has led to the development of illegal centers.

In November 2021, nine older people died in a fire at a nursing home near Varna and four others died in a similar incident in May 2022 at another facility in the same region.