Skip to content
Support our work

Violence at the Serbian-Hungarian border

Date & Time 2022-05-09
Location Horgos border
Reported by Collective Aid
Coordinates 46.1527346, 19.9655305
Pushback from Hungary
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 21 - 21
Group size 25
Countries of origin Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia
Treatment at police station or other place of detention photos taken
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 6-7
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, insulting, pepper spray, destruction of personal belongings
Police involved 6-7 policemen, one policewoman among them. They came with 2 police's cars. Some of them were hooded and wearing military outfit.

The respondent is a 21 years old man from Algeria. On the 5th of September around 1 am he tried to cross between Hungary and Serbia from the area of Horgos with 30 other people from Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Syria. The respondent reported that it was his first try and it was really dark so he could not see anything.

The police saw them right at the moment they were crossing the border. He claimed that 6-7 police officers – all policeman and one policewoman – with two police cars apprehended them, some of the police officers were wearing military uniforms and balaclavas.  When he jumped, one of the officers, hooded and with military uniform, came to him and started beating him.

The military officer dislocated the respondent’s shoulder, hit and kicked him on the face, and used pepper spray in his eyes.  The officer also broke his phone.

Then they brought him to the border station, took pictures of him and told him to go. He came back to Serbia walking to where he was staying.