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We walked 20 days under the snow. Last 10 days, no food, no water

Date & Time 2021-09-12
Location 50 minutes from A1 road, at the border between Slovenia and Croatia.
Reported by Anonymous Partner
Coordinates 45.48043239, 14.21396893
Pushback from Croatia, Slovenia
Pushback to Bosnia, Croatia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 16 - 30
Group size 16
Countries of origin Afghanistan, Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention detention, personal information taken, papers signed
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 24
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), threatening with guns, reckless driving
Police involved 12 Slovenian policemen, 12-13 Croatian border police (granicna policija)

On the 8th of December, 16 people were pushed back from Slovenia, 10 kilometres away from Italy.

The respondent claims that he and 17 other people started to walk on the 18th of November at around 11 in the morning; the group were from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and there were two minors. They walked for many days inside through the forest, and there was a lot of snow.

“20 days walking in the jungle. After 10 days, no more food, no more water.”

 

On the 8th of December at 4 p.m. the group was caught by 12 Slovenian officers on A1 road, only 10 km from the Italian border. As the respondent stated, officers told them to stop and not to run, and threatened to release dogs. They also pointed guns on the people, who remained still. The two minors of the group managed to escape. One of the people in the group was slapped by one Slovenian policeman.

The 12 Slovenian officers were both men and women and brought the group of now 16 people to a police station using 3 white vans. he journey took around 30 minutes. At the police station, with the help of a translator (no one within them could speak English), policemen asked for them information about how they arrived in Slovenia.

“They were asking us questions, and we kept on telling we are hungry, we need food. Finally, they gave us food, but only one time. We walked 10 days without food and water.”

The 16 people slept at the police station; as the respondent says, the conditions were not bad, but they gave them food only once. In the morning, at around 10 a.m., Slovenian police drove for 20-25 minutes and handed the people to the Croatian officers.

As the respondent says, “this time the Croatian police was not that bad”: they put the people in containers and checked them for 20 minutes. They didn’t steal anything from them. After having checked them, they put them on a bus and drove for 4-5 hours. They released them in proximity to the Bosnian border, closed to Bihać.

“They took lot of time to arrive to the border and leave us there. The car was shaking and we were not feeling well. I think they wanted to confuse us.”