Summary and analysis of pushbacks and internal violence documented by BVMN during the month of September.
The Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) published 35 testimonies of pushbacks in September, sharing the experience of 815 people-on-the-move at borders across the Balkans. This report looks at a number of trends in these violent expulsions, such as beatings, sexual violence, outsourcing of pushbacks and maritime violations.
BVMN is a network of watchdog organisations active in the Balkans, Greece and Turkey including No Name Kitchen, Rigardu, Are You Syrious, Mobile Info Team, Disinfaux Collective, Josoor, ports Sarajevo, InfoKolpa, Centre for Peace Studies, Mare Liberum, Collective Aid and Fresh Response. Combining insights from these different members, the report analyses among other things:
- Forced undressing, searches and sexual violence
- Dinghy drivers in the Evros
- Chain pushbacks from Slovenia
- Further pushbacks to Patras
- Update on new ‘hotspot’ and surveillance systems in Greek camps
Read the full report to find out more on the situation across the Balkans, including quarantine for arrivals in Trieste, the announcement of the new section of Lipa camp, encounters with far-right groups in Šid, a further dead body found near the border with Croatia, Hungarian police officers in Serbian territory, claimed ‘success’ of the Greek government’s response to 2020 Moria fire and ending of the cash assistance program.
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