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This has to be the last time that you try, otherwise next time we’ll put you in jail!

Date & Time 2018-09-05
Location Close to road 55, Hungary
Reported by Rigardu
Coordinates 46.17345324, 19.0387164
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved no
Age unknown
Group size 22
Countries of origin Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention photos taken, personal information taken
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 8
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, dog attacks
Police involved 7-8 Hungarian police officers (5-6 male, 2 female, in Hungarian local police uniforms)

On May 6th 2018, 22 men (20 from Pakistan and 2 from Syria) crossed the border from Serbia to Hungary, and continued walking for 3 days – about  94km. into Hungarian territory, before reaching road 55 on 9 th. There they got caught by 7-8 Hungarian police officers (5-6 male, 2 female, in Hungarian local police uniforms), with some police dogs, 2 police vans and 1-2 smaller police cars. All men expressed the intention to seek asylum, but the officers didn’t respond. They took the group to the side of the road and started violently attacking them. All officers beat them with sticks, hands and kicking, on all parts of their bodies.  The officers further ordered their dogs to attack and scratch the men, for about 15 minutes in total.

The officers addressed two of the men, the interviewee and his friend, multiple times, accusing the interviewee of being the leader of the group, because he was walking in front, when the officers first noticed the group. During the incident, the officers also insulted and threatened the men and shouted at them. “This has to be the last time that you try, otherwise next time we’ll put you in jail!” The men asked, why they weren’t allowed to seek asylum in Hungary even though they had tried several times (the interviewee states that this was his sixth attempt). The officers shouted back, “It’s never going to happen in Hungary, you have to try another way!” Less than half an hour later, the police officers transported the men to an Hungarian police station which was about 30 minutes away.

There, the officers searched the bodies and bags of the men and checked their mobile phones and other belongings, although nothing was confiscated. They asked the men to show their ID cards (they showed the ID cards from reception centers in Serbia) and wrote down their personal details and took pictures of them. They didn’t take any fingerprints, the men were not asked to sign any paper and no documents were given to them. After about 3 hours in total at the police station, the men were transported back to the Serbian-Hungarian border and deported to the Serbian side of the border.