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He pleaded ‘peace, please’ but they took all of his belongings, stamped on his hand and threw him into the river

Date & Time 2021-09-14
Location near Crni Potok, Croatia
Reported by Collective Aid
Coordinates 45.22444, 15.842807
Pushback from Croatia
Pushback to Bosnia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 24 - 25
Group size 2
Countries of origin Morocco
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 4
Violence used kicking, insulting, water immersion, gunshots, theft of personal belongings
Police involved 4 Croatian police officers dressed in a black uniform with black ski masks that resembles the uniform worn by the EPZ subunit of the intervention police; one white police van

At 9pm on the evening of 14th September a 25-year-old Moroccan man attempted to cross the border from Bosnia to Croatia near the town of Velika Kladuša. He was traveling with a friend, a 24-year old Moroccan man. It was dark and they were in the vicinity of the river Glina near Crni Potok when they encountered four Croatian police officers with a white police van. The respondent’s friend managed to run away but the respondent did not. Each of the Croatian police officers was wearing a black police uniform with a black ski mask that the respondent later identified as belonging to the EPZ subunit of the intervention police. The Croatian officers fired gunshots at the ground and asked the respondent where he was from. When he said that he was from Morocco they laughed and insulted him. He pleaded ‘peace, please’ but they took all of his belongings, which included his jacket, clothes, money and phone. They then stamped on his hand and threw him into the Glina river. Alone and afraid that his hand was broken, the respondent managed to swim for 20 metres, at which point he found a Bosnian passer-by who drove him for three kilometres to a nearby hotel. When the receptionist at the hotel saw the respondent’s physical state and injuries she allowed him to stay the night for free, for which the respondent was extremely grateful. “Bosnian people very nice”, he remarked.