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First the two police officers used pepper spray on them, so that they were not able to see anything. Then the men were beaten with fists, batons and kicking to all parts of their body

Date & Time 2017-11-29
Location Budapest, Hungary
Reported by Rigardu
Coordinates 47.497912, 19.040235
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved no
Men involved no
Age unknown
Group size 35
Countries of origin Pakistan, North Africa
Treatment at police station or other place of detention photos taken, personal information taken, papers signed
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved unknown
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, dog attacks
Police involved two Hungarian police officers with one police car, officers at the police station

On November 29th. 2017, 35 men from North Africa and Pakistan, who are between 19 and 50 years old and one minor (14 years), travelled by car from Serbia across the Hungarian border. They were caught by what was described as two Hungarian police officers with one police car on the same day, at about at 3.15pm near Budapest. The police ordered the driver to open the doors and show them the passengers. The police asked if the men spoke English. The men were afraid that the police would accuse them of illegal entry and expressed their intention to seek asylum. The police transported them to a police station in Budapest (the men didn’t see where they drove), where they arrived at about 4.30pm. There, several police officers interrogated the men, took pictures, wrote down their personal details and asked them to sign papers. No fingerprints were taken, and no written documents were given to them.

The police declared that if the men want to apply for asylum they would get registered at closed camps and that the procedure would last six months. The men asked for possibilities to stay at open camps and said that otherwise they did not want this. They explained their reasons for asking for asylum, huge political and economical problems and persecution in Pakistan made them want to flee. The interviewee showed them his injured leg and the police called a doctor to check this. The doctor was about to take the man to the hospital to treat the leg, but the police denied it.

Afterwards some of the officers violently attacked them, beating the men with fists for a few minutes. The police declared that the men would be deported back to Serbia. After about 2 hours at the police station, what were described as 2 Hungarian police officers transported the men in a big police bus to the Serbian border close to Subotica, between the border fences, where they arrived at around 7pm. The police searched their bodies and belongings. Afterwards another more severe violent attack occurred. The officers ordered the men to kneel down and put their hands behind their neck. First the two police officers reportedly used pepper spray on them, so that they were not able to see anything. Then the men were beaten with fists, batons and kicks to all parts of their body. Because of the pepper spray the men could not see the involved officers. Then the police ordered the two dogs to attack and scratch the men all over their bodies. In total this violent attack lasted for about half an hour. The police ordered them to go back to Serbia and not to come back.