On Tuesday, the 19th of April 2022, around 9 pm, a group of 5 people from Afghanistan and Pakistan was reportedly apprehended in the Croatian city of Vokuvar. The respondent said that they had crossed the border a few hours before and rested in an empty house. Reportedly, 2 old persons saw them in the house, went to talk to them and then had a phone call. The respondent added that after only 10 minutes, 2 cars arrived, described as one small car, with 2 men inside, and one van with a cell at the back, with 2 other men.

After being all handcuffed, the 5 people were reportedly forced to enter the van and were taken, after around 20 minutes of driving, to what was described as a police station. The men in uniform forced them to register their fingerprints. Then, they were forcibly placed into a cell, where they ended up staying for 2 full days. The respondent reported that the men in uniform took their phone, their shoes, and their shirts, so they stayed for 2 days only in their trousers. He complained about how “very cold” the temperature was in the cell. He also explained that the men in uniform took his money from him, 350 euros in total. They allegedly did not give him back his money, his phone, and 3 of the 4 shirts he had. During these 2 days, no food or water was given to them.

The respondent explicitly told the men in uniform that he wanted to ask for asylum, but they did not act accordingly; “police not respect the rules”, he explained. He was told by one man in uniform : “you are shit”.

The uniformed men accused the 5 persons of smuggling, and brought them to what the respondent called “jail”. In this place, they stayed for 28 days. Reportedly, they were there given “little little food, little little water”.

After these 28 days, the 5 people were brought to what the respondent called a “police station”. They reportedly once again stayed in a cell for 2 days. Then, they were forced to enter in a van, which pushed them back over the border, back into Serbia.