Skip to content
Support our work

attacked with sticks and knives - where is the human rights?

Date & Time 2020-05-26
Location river in the locality of Licka Jesenica
Reported by Border Violence Monitoring Network
Coordinates 44.9964315, 15.4406462
Pushback from Croatia
Pushback to Bosnia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 18 - 18
Group size 14
Countries of origin Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 20
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), knife attack
Police involved 20 Croatian officers dressed in black with balaclavas (Interventna division), three vans

A group of at least 14 people originally from Pakistan reported that, on the night of 26th May 2020 around 01:00 they were intercepted by Croatian police officers who were wearing black uniforms and black ski masks over their faces. The respondents stated that at least 20 policemen were present, and the group was caught near a river in the locality of Licka Jesenica, Croatia (https://goo.gl/maps/GREji2KQBGVViv219).

At the time of the arrest, the police made people sit on the ground and began to beat them up, hitting them with closed fists, batons and kicks. The group were then lined up and marched to 3 Croatian police vehicles parked nearby.

When the transit group were loaded into the van, they were made to lie face down on the floor of the rear compartment and were beaten again, including with the use of the butt of the guns. One of the respondents reported that he was attacked with a knife used by one of the officers. According to the group, the officers of the beating were on drugs or alcohol, and were amused and exalted by the situation and the more they beat the group the more they laughed.

At the end of the beating, the van was closed then driven for a short time. The vehicle stopped by the border with Bosnia Herzegovina, at the lateral height of Velika Kladusa. The fourteen people were unloaded and were made to go by foot across the border. The officers told them to go holding each other’s arm, since almost all of them were seriously injured and unable to walk unassisted.

Arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an International Organisation for Migration vehicle took the group to the local hospital where they were treated (Sulejmana Topića 1, Velika Kladuša 77230, Bosnia & Herzegovina). The next day some of them were taken to the larger and better equipped cantonal hospital in Bihac for further treatment. In the medical report, it is stated that the patient claims that the injuries and bruises were caused by the Croatian police.

At the time of interview the group was located within Velika Kladusa’s TRC Miral. Their case was the subject of several videos on social media portraying the extent of the injuries inflicted, and a feature story on Bosnian Federal TV. In the video shown, the narrator pans across a line of injured men and asks:

“where is the human rights?”