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The officers beat me ‘like crazy’. One of them held me up like a punching bag while the others punched me repeatedly.

Date & Time 2023-08-01
Location Meric, Turkey to Soufli, Greece
Reported by Collective Aid
Coordinates 41.193485541245, 26.321736088917
Pushback from Greece
Pushback to Turkey
Taken to a police station unknown
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age unknown
Group size 2
Countries of origin Algeria
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 8
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), pushing people to the ground, theft of personal belongings, stabbing, stomping
Police involved 8 officers in total. 2 Greek policemen with uniforms and a car, and a group of 6 officers that the respondent believed might have been Frontex. They wore balaclava masks and uniforms without badges. They spoke fluent English without accents and didn’t speak any Greek.

The respondent is a 21-year-old Algerian man. He reported being pushed back from Greece to Turkey in August 2023. He was travelling with one other Algerian man.

The two men crossed the border near Meriç in Turkey to Soufli in Greece during the night. They crossed the river Evros with a dinghy. The respondent and his friend were apprehended near Soufli in the morning by two people, recognized by the respondent as Greek policemen with uniforms and a car.

The two officers transported the respondent and his friend by car to another location where there was a group of 6 officers that the respondent believed might have been Frontex officers. They wore balaclava masks and uniforms without badges. They spoke fluent English without accents and didn’t speak any Greek. The respondent said the 6 officers beat him and his friend “like crazy”. He described one of the officers lifting him up from behind, under his arms, and holding him up like “a punching bag”. The other officers then punched him repeatedly.

The officers then forced the two men to lie on the ground and stomped on them. They hit them in the legs with batons. They also hit them in the knees in what the respondent said was an attempt to break them. The respondent showed us scars from the beatings on his left leg.

The officers also stabbed the respondent on his left upper thigh. He showed us the scar he has from this.

Finally, the officers stole the men’s shoes and took them back to the dinghy. They were forced to cross back into Turkey and had to walk 30-40 kilometres without shoes.