Officers gouged my friend's eyes so badly he cannot see
| 13.09.2022 | Horgos, Serbia | Collective Aid | 46.1742688, 19.9843314 | Hungary | Serbia | no | no | no | yes | no | no | 25 - 25 | 20 | Morocco | 25 | beating (with batons/hands/other), pushing people to the ground, pepper spray, electric shock, pouring water over one's head, destruction of personal belongings, theft of personal belongings, eye-gouging | 25 Hungarian officers in military camouflage clothing with 'HUN' on chest and Hungarian flag on arm, wore black masks to cover face, driving in green 4x4 with lights on the top. Transported to the border in blue police vans. |
The respondent is a 25 years old man from Morocco that attempted to cross the Serbian-Hungarian border with other 20 people from Morocco. The group was apprehended around 1AM as they crossed the second border fence. The respondent recalled that they were apprehended by 24 men in uniform driving green 4x4 vehicles, all masked and in military camouflage clothing with "HUN" on the chest and the Hungarian flag on the arm. They apprehended the transit group and began beating them with batons. The officers made them kneel down and put their hands out in front on the ground and they beat them on their backs. They sprayed the group with pepper spray in both their eyes and their mouth. His friend had his eye gouged so badly that he could not see, while beating the men the officers took their money and valuable belongings. From him the 'officers' took all he had left which was €150. The officers also took his phone and made him put in his pin before taking it from him. The beating lasted 2 hours. Some of the group were tasered in their necks and covered in water by the officers. If anyone from the group said anything to the officers they were beaten even more. At 4 AM, the group was put into blue vans and taken to the border crossing at Horgoš where they were told to go back over into Serbia. The image shows the bruising two days after the beating sustained during the pushback.