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The officers beat them with hands, batons and kicking

Date & Time 2018-09-01
Location close to Kelebia, Hungary
Reported by Rigardu
Coordinates 46.20465301, 19.59495613
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station unknown
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved no
Age 20 - 30
Group size 10
Countries of origin Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved unknown
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, destruction of personal belongings, theft of personal belongings
Police involved Police officers described as Hungarian border police (12 male, 1 female, in blue uniforms), later 4 more young police officers, violence used by 2 of them (young males)

On January 9th. in the evening, 10 men (8 from Pakistan, 2 from India, all about 20-30 years) walked from Kelebija in Serbia and across the Hungarian border. They where stopped by several police officers described as Hungarian border police (12 male, 1 female, in blue uniforms), on the following night at about 10-11pm. in a forrest near Kelebia, Hungary. The men expressed their intention to seek asylum, explained their living situation and plans for the future and pledged for appropriate treatment from the police.

The police officers didn’t ask the men anything more, but called for 4 more police officers to join them. They searched their bodies and belongings, and checked to see if they had any money and mobile phones. The police took the good phones (two in total) and broke 5 other phones. They took pictures of them, but didn’t write down their personal details, give any written documents or take any fingerprints. Then the men were taken to a police van, and 2 of the police officers (young males) violently attached them, one by one when they entered the van. The officers beat them with hands, batons and kicking, on all parts of their bodies.

The interviewee was beaten in the face and directly to his eyes, so severely that his nose was bleeding afterwards and his eyes were bloody for two days, making it difficult for him to sleep on the following nights. After the incident the men were transported by van to the Serbian-Hungarian border between Kelebia, Hungary and Kelebija, Serbia. The men were ordered to go back to Serbia, so they returned to the Serbian side. The interviewee was proposed to consult a lawyer (the pictures taken by the police as proper proof of the incident), but he didn’t consent.