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They beat up the ones who tried to run

Date & Time 2023-04-08
Location near Kelebia, Hungary
Reported by Collective Aid
Coordinates 46.171885481625, 19.622611079102
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved yes
Men involved yes
Age 12 - 30
Group size 11
Countries of origin Syria
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 6
Violence used kicking, pushing people to the ground
Police involved 6 Hungarian Police officers, 4 Hungarian police cars, 1 big bus

The respondent is an approximately 30 years old Syrian man who was traveling together with his Syrian mother and her two daughters (both between 12 and 13 years of age).

He reported on a pushback that the 4 of them experienced in the early morning hours of the 8th of April 2023.

The 4 of them crossed the Serbian/Hungarian border in a place close to the city of Subotica, together with another 7 men from Syria. The group included 11 people in total. When they were approximately 500 meters into Hungarian territory, they realized that a drone had spotted them. According to the respondent, the Hungarian police arrived shortly after. He identified the Hungarian police officers by their uniforms and cars. When shown galleries with pictures of different authorities during the interview, he confirmed that the people he had seen were wearing such uniforms. The respondent reported that 6 police officers apprehended them. Some members of the group, including our respondent, tried to run away, but were caught by the police officers. He reported that those who tried to run were beaten by the officers. He described that he himself got kicked into his abdomen. No violence against the woman and the children was reported.

The group was then gathered, put in a big bus and driven back over to the border with Serbia.

They weren’t taken to any official camp but were left by themselves on Serbian grounds.