On June 13th, 2017 a group of people on the move walked approximately 5km into Hungary. They were sleeping in the forrest for approximately one hour to hide from the police, because they thought they were safe enough to sleep. Then they were surrounded by police, who started beating everyone. The police called the dogs, German shepherds, the dogs had muzzles on. The police continued beating, kicking, punching and hitting the group of people with sticks. With both police batons, sticks from the forest, and their torches. 

“There was one man who was very tall and looked like a bodybuilder, he had on a blue shirt and army trousers. They kicked us in the face and groin and said, “Welcome to Hungary.” Then, they put dirt into our faces and said again, “Welcome to Hungary.”

After one and a half or two hours, the police ordered them to stand up and moved the group from the forrest. They told them to make a line, and continued beating them with batons and sticks on their legs. The interviewee describes that there was a car playing loud Hungarian music, and that the police officers poured beer and wine on the back of their necks. Then the group was told to sit down in the line outside the forest, and the police released a dog on them.

“They kicked me in the face when I was sitting, and my nose started bleeding. Then, when the police saw my nose bleeding, he kicked me in the face again, and said, “Fuck you.” The police had pistols and the army had machine guns, they held the guns to each of our heads. Then, they told us to stand up and make a line, and start walking. As we were walking, they continued to beat us.”

The interviewee describes that there was a specially trained police officer who was kicking and punching their faces and arms. They walked for one and a half hours, while still being beaten. When they got to the main road, the police brought in two vans. The police took the group to the transit zone gate, and interviewed them one by one. They asked a series of questions such as: Where are you from? How old are you? What is your name? What is your mother’s name? Where do you want to go?

Then the police instructed them to unlock their phones and they checked their phones. The police also went through their belongings and pockets. Then the Serbian police came to the fence, and the Hungarian police took the dog away. The Hungarians asked how much money each person had, and then gave the money back to them.

“My nose continued bleeding for two hours, and when I arrived to the transit zone it was still bleeding.”

The police took around 5-6 minutes to check each person, and at around 5:30 or 6:00 am they opened the gate and led the group back to Serbia.