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Push-back from the port of Bari

Date & Time 2020-02-22
Location Inside the port of Bari
Reported by No Name Kitchen
Coordinates 41.1327435, 16.8668087
Pushback from Italy
Pushback to Greece
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 23 - 23
Group size 2
Countries of origin Egypt
Treatment at police station or other place of detention fingerprints taken, personal information taken, no translator present
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved unknow
Violence used no violence used
Police involved 2 italian police officers (they wear italian uniforms)

The respondent along with one other individual, both males from Egypt, engaged in a transit attempt from the port of Patras on February 21st. The respondent described stowing away inside of a truck on the ferry which regularly leaves from the port. 

After what was described as a period of 16 hours, the two men arrived to the Italian port of Bari. During this time, they were not sure about what was occurring outside of the truck and recalled being confused and afraid about what they should do. After some time, the truck began moving off of the ship to pass the standard border controls. At around this time, two police officers clas in “Italian uniforms” discovered the two men and forced them out of the vehicle. The two men were taken on foot by the officers to what was described as “a police office…inside [of] the port”, around almost 10 minutes away on foot. 

The respondent described that during this time, they did not understand what was going. In the station, the officers along and the other people in the offices spoke mainly in Italian. The officers spoke some English to the two men-in-transit however they did not speak English at all (this border violence report was taken with the use of a translator). There was not a translator available to the men in the station in Bari. The main officer interacting with the two men asked for their names and personal information (such as country of origin, age, etc.). The officers took their fingerprints (ten fingers). The two men did not receive any documents. 

After a number of hours, the police men brought the two men-in-transit inside of a ferry (the respondent was not sure if it was the same one) and sealed them in a cabin. There was a toilet inside, and they were given food three times a day. According to the respondent, the ferry made a number of stops (perhaps in a Croatian port or an Albania port, the respondent described) and after 4 days they arrived back to Patras on February 25th where Greek policemen were waiting for the two men. They escorted them out of the port, freed them, and did not ask anything more from the two men.