The respondent, a man of Pakistani origin, underwent yet another pushback by the Croatian authorities on May 17, 2022. Reportedly, the man had left Glinica (Velika Kladuša) near the Bosnian-Croatian border on the morning of Saturday, May 15 together with a group of 5 other Pakistanis, including 2 minors. After the group crossed the border, they walked into Croatian territory. The route proceeded through the forest with several ups and downs for about three days. At one point the group split in two and after a few kilometers, in the outskirts of Zagreb, more precisely along a road that runs alongside the Velika Gorica motorway, the respondent and the other two men ran into Croatian police officers. The respondent reported seeing a man and a woman in a blue uniform, who arrived at dawn aboard a minivan. The three men expressed their willingness to seek asylum to the policemen and the latter, once they listened to their requests, deceived them, claiming to be willing to offer them a ride to the Zagreb police station, where they would certainly receive the necessary documents to be able to legally stay in Croatian. The respondent and the two companions believed him and entered the van, which was described as a medium-sized vehicle for about 5/6 people. The van then proceeded slowly and unhurriedly and after 10 minutes it arrived at the Zagreb police headquarters. Here the respondent spent the next three hours, during which he tried in vain to ask for documents to apply for asylum. After these three hours, around 8.30 on the morning of 17 May 2022, the three men were ordered to get into a car together with 4 other men of Afghan nationality. Two policemen wearing dark blue uniforms and with another man who the respondent thinks may have been an IOM attorney (but he is not sure). The seven men then got into the van, where they remained for about two hours of driving, during which many of them felt sick and threw up due to reckless driving and a total lack of air. The respondent also claims that a car followed the van all the way to the border. Once again in Glinica (Velika Kladuša), in the forest, they were brought down and shown the direction to take to go back and away from the Croatian border, under the threat of being arrested and beaten the next time they try to cross it.
'We give you all the documents''
Date & Time
2022-05-17
Location
near Glinica, BiH
Reported by
No Name Kitchen
Coordinates
45.21345346,
15.93868982
Pushback from
Croatia
Pushback to
Bosnia
Taken to a police station
yes
Minors involved
yes
WLTI* involved
no
Men involved
no
Age
unknown
Group size
6
Countries of origin
Afghanistan, Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved
4
Violence used
exposure to air condition and extreme temperature during car ride, destruction of personal belongings, theft of personal belongings, reckless driving
Police involved
4 Croatian border officers