The respondent started by explaining that he would have been part of a collective pushback had he not been so severely injured by the Hungarian officers – reportedly left with four broken ribs and two black eyes. He was in a large group who were all apprehended by what he described as military officers, dressed in camouflage, on the 2nd October around 00:00. The respondent reports that the group were being repeatedly beaten and insulted by the military. They reportedly used their guns to beat them while also tormenting them by pouring the soft drinks from their bags onto their heads. The respondent states he was lying on the floor in pain having been repeatedly kicked in the ribs.

He explained that once the individuals he described as ‘military‘ had finished with insulting and beating, they called the police to collect the group. The group report to have waited for three hours in the cold. The respondent could not sit up from the pain he was in and so reportedly lay curled up on the floor shaking. He asked, and others around him asked, if he could go to the hospital, he states that he was completely ignored.

The respondent explained that when what were described as police officers arrived, the treatment towards the group from the “military” completely shifted. They completely stopped engaging with the group, no more insulting or beating, pretending as though it had not happened. The police saw that the respondent could not move and finally he was taken to the hospital. The respondent was unclear exactly on the name of the town but he said the hospital was around 6km from the border between Serbia and Hungary – most likely Szeged hospital from the description.

The respondent reportedly stayed in hospital in Hungary for 10 days after being tested for Covid and told that he had four broken ribs. He repeatedly explained that he told everyone who asked him that he had broken his ribs falling from the border fence. He admitted that he is afraid of the authorities so did not want to cause any more attention to himself in Hungary by explaining that it had in fact been the repeated kicking from the military that had caused his injuries.

He was released by the doctor on the morning of the 12th October at 8:00 am. However, he reports that he had to wait all day at the hospital to be collected by the police. In the evening, the police, who had been called by the hospital, came. His hospital documents, stating he had broken three front ribs and one back rib, were handed over to the policeman who reportedly read them and laughed. He reports that he was brought back to the border crossing near Sombor, Backi Breg, in what he describes as a white police van. They had collected a few others along the way. At the border each had their photo taken by the police. He then reports that he went in a taxi to Sombor camp on the night of 12th October around 10pm.