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They beat and kicked us because we didn't understand Hungarian

Date & Time 2023-04-25
Location In the forest near Ruzsa, Hungary
Reported by Collective Aid
Coordinates 46.2720875, 19.7572656
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 25 - 35
Group size 25
Countries of origin Syria
Treatment at police station or other place of detention no translator present, forced to pay fee
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 25
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, pushing people to the ground, pepper spray
Police involved Hungarian police authorities, 20 officers in 5 cars

The respondent is a Syrian man, between 25 and 30 years old. He told us that he was traveling with a group of about 25 young Syrian men, all of them of similar ages to his.

This pushback happened in the early morning hours (about 3-4am) of the 25th of April.

The respondent described that they crossed the border from Serbia to Hungary in a place close to the city of Subotica. After that, they walked about 10km into Hungary before they realized they were followed by a drone. Soon after, 5 cars with about 20 police officers arrived, he identified them as Hungarian police officers. The respondent said that 3 of the officers were female. The group was then apprehended and physical violence was reportedly perpetrated against some members of the group, including him. According to the respondent, they were beaten with batons and kicked for not being able to understand what the police officers tried to tell them in Hungarian. They were mainly beaten with batons on their heads and hands and kicked when being on the floor. The respondent emphasized that the female officers were involved in beating them.

They were then put in a bus and driven to the border with Serbia along the highway 55. Arriving there, 15 officers that our respondent identified as Serbian took them over. He further mentioned that every one in the group had to pay 100 EUR to the Serbian police and that they stole cigarettes from them as well. Then they were left to themselves.