The respondent is a 24-year-old man from Syria. On the 22nd of January, together with a group of in total 12 men, from Lipa, he reached the border area. The age of the group members was between 15 and 27 years old.
From there they walked to Croatia. They walked from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m., when they were apprehended by individuals wearing uniforms that resemble those of border police close to Dobroseli, Croatia.
According to the respondent, there were 5 officers of which one was a driver. They came in a police van. The respondent reported that the officers were wearing camouflage/beige colored trousers and a black jacket. 4 officers came out of the car. One by one they took the phones of every group member and then beat every person with hands and feet. The respondent was beaten severely in his chest, from which he still has trouble breathing. The police told the group that they were not welcome in Croatia and shouldn’t come back.
After the beating, which lasted for approximately 10 minutes, the group members were dragged into the van and pushed back to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They drove for 2 hours, the respondent didn’t know the exact place where they were dropped out of the car.