If Bulgaria sends this man back to Turkmenistan – where he faces certain torture and the threat of a brutal death – our claim to be part of a democratic, rights-respecting Europe will ring hollow. Moreover, the EU’s image as a defender of human rights around the world will be tarnished by its inability to hold member states to its own standards.
如果保加利亚将此人遣送回土库曼斯坦—在那里他将会面临某种折磨和死亡威胁—我们口口声声说自己是民主、尊重人权的欧洲的一部分的话也成为空谈。另外，欧盟在全世界的人权卫士形象也会因为它不能让成员国坚持自身的标准而黯然失色。