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Nobody in the group was able to pay more, so the driver took them directly to a police station in Hungary.

Date & Time 2021-05-16
Location Tompa/Kelebija border crossing
Reported by Collective Aid
Coordinates 46.16843054, 19.55886528
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 12 - 29
Group size 10
Countries of origin Syria, Morocco
Treatment at police station or other place of detention fingerprints taken, photos taken, personal information taken
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 6
Violence used no violence used
Police involved 4 officers (wearing police uniforms with the Hungarian flag sewed on), 2 officers with a car

The respondent reports having crossed the border from Serbia to Hungary in a group of 10 people on Saturday, May 15th around 8 am. Eight people in the group were Syrian and two Moroccan. All were male and around 28-29 years old, except for one minor at the age of 12. 

After crossing the border they were picked up by a car and driven to a village near the Austrian-Hungarian border. The drive took about four hours. At the village, the driver asked for more money to bring them to Austria. Nobody in the group was able to pay more, so the driver took all of them to a police station in Győr as the respondent explains. They arrived there at 1 pm.

At the police station, everyone’s fingerprints (all ten fingers) and prints of the palms were taken. The respondent understood that the fingerprints were not taken to start an asylum procedure. The police also registered everyone’s names and took pictures. The respondent was not asked to sign anything. Four people in the group were asked questions about their route to Europe, the duration of their stay in Serbia, their time in Turkey, and previous pushbacks for approximately one hour. They did not take phones or other personal belongings or used physical violence. The respondent was given water, and a fitness bar and was allowed to use the toilet. 

At night the respondent and the other people in the group were taken back to the Hungarian-Serbian border by the Hungarian police. There were three male and one female officer wearing police uniforms with Hungarian flags on the sleeves. They let them out of the police vehicle at the border crossing in Tompa/Kelebija at 6 am on Sunday, May 16th. At the border crossing, two men which the respondent describes as Serbian police officers were present, but did not interact with the group.