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"Everything is on fire, phone, power-bank, everything. Money, police take it"

Date & Time 2021-04-27
Location close to Bihac, Bosnia Herzegovina
Reported by Anonymous Partner
Coordinates 44.60681912, 16.31921317
Pushback from Croatia
Pushback to Bosnia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 19 - 24
Group size 6
Countries of origin Afghanistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 5
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, pushing people to the ground, exposure to air condition and extreme temperature during car ride, insulting, destruction of personal belongings, theft of personal belongings, reckless driving
Police involved 5 police officers with black uniform, black balaclava mask, boots and batons, 2 civilian vehicles, a white police van

The transit group, composed by five people from Afghanistan, was walking next to the road D23, near the town of Melnice in Croatia. They were walking for seven days, in the night of the eight day at 2.30 am the Croatian police detected the group. Five police officers, in black uniform and wearing black balaclava masks, approached the group in two civilian vehicles.

“They hit me, my foot, my head and asking why are you coming to my country?”

The respondent described, heavy beating on his head and foot. Further, he experienced the police officers kicking him and pushing him on the ground. The police officers insulted him, with words such as:

“Fuck you, why are you coming to my country?!”.

The police officers took the sleeping bags, backpacks, phones, power banks, shoes and socks of the respondent and his friends and burnt everything. They further took their money but kept it.

“My everything, my sleeping bag, my bag, my shoes is taken, everything. Hit me and go.”

“Everything is on fire, phone, power-bank everything. Money, police take it. ”

Afterwards a white police van approached the group, with already twenty people on the move inside. The transit group had to enter into this van, which was then carrying a total of twenty-six people. During the following five hours drive, the respondent experienced hot temperature and vomiting due to the fast driving of the police.

“This time it’s very bad situation, almost no oxygen left.”

When they where pushed back at the border to Bosnia-Herzegovina, close to Bihac, they had to walk twenty-five kilometres to arrive to the camp of Lipa.