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They stamped on his leg, causing it to break.

Date & Time 2020-07-14
Location Near Vinkovci, Croatia
Reported by No Name Kitchen
Coordinates 45.14682686, 19.16334139
Pushback from Croatia
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 42 - 42
Group size 1
Countries of origin Tunisia
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 4
Violence used kicking, pushing people to the ground, threatening with guns, theft of personal belongings
Police involved 4 Croatian officers in blue uniforms without facemasks.

On 14th July 2020, a 42 year old Tunisian man was violently pushed back from Croatia to Serbia. The respondent took a taxi from the town of Sid in Serbia to close to the border with Croatia. He walked across fields from the border until he was close to the town of Vinkovci in Croatia, some 40 kilometres from the border. At around this point, he was located and approached by four Croatian officers who were wearing all blue uniforms. Before he had a chance to ask for asylum in Croatia, they shouted at him to sit down and put his hands up. One officer drew a gun to make him sit down. After this initial exchange, the officers present took 800 Euros from the respondent. He described trying to film them doing so on his phone which caused the officers to become angry and take the rest of his money in retaliation. The total money taken was 1600 Euros and the officers also took a powerbank, a phone and a backpack with clothes in it.

After this the officers handcuffed him and, after some time, led him to a van which they closed him inside of in order to transport him to the Serbian border. There was another patrol vehicle there as well. As they began the drive back to the border, there were two officers who drove in the van and the other two drove in another police car in front.

The approximate location of the push-back described by the respondent, which occurred in the section highlighted in red – along the train tracks separating Serbia from Croatia outside of Tovarnik


When they arrived to the border, the respondent pleaded with the officers to give him some of the money back and his phone, so he could at least take a taxi. He yelled “give me my phone” at which point one officer took him from the van to near a metal fence and stamped on the respondent’s leg, causing it to break. The officers left him in the field near the train tracks [approximate coordinates: 45.147468, 19.163410] just across the Serbian border between Sid and Tovarnik. He then struggled to walk back to Sid in much pain, approximately 6.5 kilometres. He knew his leg was in very bad  condition and he was very dirty from the encounter, so he staggered to the hotel near the train station in Sid where he knew the owner and could seek medical help.

The respondent’s leg after returning to Sid and receiving medical attention