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I said to him: "Brother, please stop". But he replied: "No brother, fuck brother". Then he beat me harder.

Date & Time 2022-04-09
Location Hungarian border near Horgoš
Reported by No Name Kitchen
Coordinates 46.232878, 20.124736
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 20 - 30
Group size 4
Countries of origin Syria
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 5
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, pushing people to the ground, insulting, pepper spray
Police involved 5 police officers in dark blue uniforms, 3 dark blue cars, 1 white van

Image description: Injuries sustained by the respondents during the pushback

On Sunday, the 4th of September, at 4 AM, a group of 4 people from Syria was pushed back from Hungary to Serbia.

The respondent was walking with a group of 7 people. They crossed Romania before arriving in Hungary. The respondent recollected being 100 metres from the Hungarian city of Szeged when they saw 5 men walking towards them. Since they thought they were ‘gangsters,’ they tried to distance themselves from them. The respondent explained that 4 group members, including him, immediately stopped when they identified the 5 men to be police officers.

The respondent recalled the group raising their hands to surrender when the officers pointed the light to their faces. Immediately after, the respondent described his eyes burning because of something he thought might be tear gas. The respondent described 3 of the officers as being cordial and 2 being aggressive. The 2 aggressive officers started beating them promptly.

The respondent recounted being forced to sit before being pushed onto the ground. While the group was on the ground, the officers kicked them on the legs and punched them in the torso, continuously insulting them. Then the officers picked them up from the back of their shirts and tied them together, with cable ties, by joining each person’s wrist to someone else’s.

The respondent reported that his wrists were red and his hand becoming blue and so he asked them to loosen the cable ties. The 5 officers ignored him and started looking for 3 group members that were missing. Since they did not find the missing members, the officers beat the group again. At that moment, the respondent described falling to the ground, his face entirely covered by blood. The respondent asked them to stop beating him, but he recalled them beating him even more harshly after the request.

“I said to him: “Brother, please stop!”. But he replied: “No brother, fuck brother!”. Then he beat me harder“.

Then the respondent described a white van coming to take them to the border. Before leaving, the respondent recalled one of the officers threatening him:
“He told me: “If you pass again I will shoot you“.

At the border, 3 women officers were waiting for them. The respondent recounted the 3 officers laughing and joking about what happened to the group. The respondent recalled how he and the other group members felt ultimately humiliated.

Around 6:45 AM the group was pushed back to Serbia.