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The Hungarian police officers used batons and shouted at the transit group telling them not to speak. The respondent recalled being struck by the police officers and said approximately five, or six men from the transit group were hit by the police officers.

Date & Time 2024-11-08
Location Exact location unknown
Reported by Collective Aid
Coordinates 46.18164722715, 19.955634150391
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved yes
Men involved yes
Age unknown
Group size 20
Countries of origin Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey
Treatment at police station or other place of detention detention, photos taken, no translator present, denial of access to toilets, denial of food/water
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 15
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other)
Police involved 15 Hungarian Police officers, 2 Police vans

In the early hours on Tuesday the 5th of November, a transit group consisting of 20 people crossed the Serbian-Hungarian border by foot. The group consisted of men, women, children, and elderly, from Afghanistan, Türkiye, and Syria. 

The respondent, an Afghan man in his mid-20s, was part of this transit group. He couldn’t identify the location of where they crossed or in which direction they were walking because it was dark and the respondent didn’t remember any locations. Around 6 AM, the transit group was apprehended by a group of 15 people. The respondent described them as having a Hungarian police badge on their chest. He also heard them speaking in Hungarian to each other. The respondent believes a local resident called the police after seeing the transit group. 

The respondent described the uniformed men as being angry, aggressive, and violent. He said Hungarian police officers used batons and shouted at the transit group telling them not to speak. The respondent recalled being struck by the police officers and said approximately five, or six men from the transit group were hit by the police officers, the people that were hit were struck in the arms, legs, and feet. The respondent said the children in the group were crying. 

The group was forced to go into two police vans. After spending six hours in the vans, the transit group was taken to a Hungarian police station at an unknown location. There, the respondent wasn’t allowed to use the toilet nor was he given any water or food. He was told by the police officers that if he had money, he could purchase water and food. The respondent was detained for three days in this Hungarian police station.

The Hungarian police confiscated the respondent’s belongings which included his mobile phone, the items were returned when the respondent was pushed back to Serbia. The Hungarian police didn’t check the respondent’s documents and there wasn’t an interpreter available either. The respondent described the Hungarian police taking a photo of the whole transit group.

On the third day, the Hungarian police forced him to go back into the police van. After spending the whole day traveling, the respondent was taken to the Presevo Detention / Transit Center. There, his fingerprints were taken by force, without explanation.