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The respondent remains unaware of what they had sign.

Date & Time 2024-08-08
Location Kelebija, Hungary
Reported by Aid Brigade Sarajevo
Coordinates 46.181772459217, 19.634223396623
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age unknown
Group size 7
Countries of origin Afghanistan, Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention detention, fingerprints taken, photos taken, papers signed, no translator present, denial of food/water
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved
Violence used no violence used
Police involved 4 Hungarian police officers and 4 black police cars. The respondent accurately described the uniform of the Hungarian police before being shown a photo, and then confirmed it was them. 2 Serbian police officers, The respondent accurately described the uniform of the Serbian police officers

Around 1 a.m. on August 8, 2024, the respondent and his transit group (7 people in total, including 2 minors) crossed the border from Serbia to Hungary. After crossing, they walked for 5 to 10 minutes through a forest (in the area of Kelebija) when they saw 4 Hungarian police officers and 4 black police cars. The respondent accurately described the uniform of the Hungarian police as dark blue before being shown a photo and then confirmed it was them.

After seeing the police, the transit group hid on the floor. The police officers came over and began speaking to them in Hungarian which none of the group understood. They were made to wait with the police for 4 hours, before a black mini-van picked them up, driven by other Hungarian police officers in the same uniforms (the number of officers was not specified).

The police drove them back to the border with Serbia, where they waited up to an hour for the Serbian authorities. 2 Serbian police officers arrived to collect the group who then took them to a nearby police station, where they waited until around 9 am. The respondent accurately described these people as Serbian police officers, and later confirmed this when shown a photo of their uniforms. The IDs of the people were taken, which were later returned.

Another minivan then came to collect the transit group, which took them to another police station. Their fingerprints were taken in the second police station, and they were made to sign documents that were written in Serbian and were not translated for them. One man from the transit group was able to translate the document using his phone, but only after signing it. The document was a declaration that the detainees were held in good conditions; specifically, it stated that they were given food, water, and clean accommodation. The respondent told us that in reality, they were denied access to food even when they requested it, and they were told they could only drink water from the bathroom tap. Regarding accommodation, he told us they were held in ‘a room of about 5 square metres, with at least 20 people’. The group was able to speak to a lawyer, who asked them several questions, such as ‘Are you married?’ and ‘Where are you from?’.

They were taken to court the same day and were made to sign more documents written in Serbian. Once again, they were not provided translation of these documents and unfortunately, no one was able to translate this document at any point. The respondent remains unaware of what they signed.

In the evening, two minivans driven by Serbian police picked up the transit group and everybody else in their holding cell. They were all driven to camp Presevo, located near the North Macedonian border. Everyone had their and IDs taken, and they received camp ID cards.