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Arrested by Czech police and beaten by Hungarian officers inside Hungary

Date & Time 2023-03-04
Location Röszke, Horgoš, Serbia
Reported by Anonymous
Coordinates 46.175888489335, 19.978657071291
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved yes
Men involved yes
Age 8 - 40
Group size 12
Countries of origin Afghanistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 10
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, pushing people to the ground, pepper spray, dog attacks, theft of personal belongings
Police involved 6 Hungarian Police officers - “Rendőrség” on their back 4 Czech Police officers - Czech flag on arm

The respondent crossed the border fence with a group of 10 people, all from Afghanistan, at approximately 2 am. The group’s ages ranged from the ages of 8yrs old to 40yrs old. Out of the 10 people, 4 of them were women and 3 were minors. 

The group were 5km into Hungary, near the town of Mórahalom, when they spotted a drone above them. According to the respondent, the drone followed them and shortly after arrived what they identified as Hungarian and Czech officers in 4 vehicles. There were 10 officers altogether and the Hungarian officers were reportedly dressing in the normal Hungarian police uniform with “Rendőrség” on the back. The respondent described that the Czech officers were dressed in Czech police uniforms with the Czech flag on their arms. According to the respondent, the officers were speaking in English to each other. 

As soon as they saw the officers, they stopped moving. The respondent described that the police then released 2 dogs with muzzles on to attack the group. The dogs were jumping up and hitting the group. The whole group sat on their knees before the officers reached them. Quickly after, the police apprehended the group. According to the respondent, the Hungarian officers sprayed everyone in the face with pepper spray. They also beat the respondent and 5 other individuals. They reportedly hit the respondent over the head with a baton. 

The respondent described that the officers searched each of the individuals and took their phones and charging cables. Their belongings were never returned. After 30 minutes of keeping everyone on their knees, the officers placed the transit group into 3 vans. 

The group was kept in the vans for 1 hour. After this, they were made to get on a large bus. According to the respondent, there were already some Arabic-speaking people on the bus. They were kept on the bus for approximately 2 hours and then taken to the official border crossing at Röszke-Horgoš. 

Once they arrived at the fence the respondent and the rest of the group had pictures of their face taken by police officers and were then pushed back through the gates at approximately 6 am.