The dogs only stopped attacking when the transit group sat and surrendered.

The respondent is a 27-year-old man from Afghanistan. He was part of a transit group consisting of 15 Afghan men and boys, aged between 15 and 30, including three minors. The transit group were pushed back from Croatia to Bosnia on Sunday, 4th of May 2025. 

The respondent described noticing what they recognised as a drone around 200 meters away while walking along a road in Croatia. He explained that they tried to hide in the forest, but were followed by the drone. The respondent was unsure of any exact location. He said that after they crossed the Sava River, they walked along a road close to a train station. Due to their proximity to the border and forest area, this could be either Oriovac or Slavonski Brod.

Thereafter, two unleashed dogs were released into the forest to locate the group. About three hours later, the group reportedly reached Croatia. The respondent detailed that it was only when the group had sat down on the floor and surrendered that three men came to collect the two dogs and put them on leads. The respondent explained that he recognised they were police as they were wearing a black uniform, had police badges, carried guns, and stated ‘we are the police’ when they came into contact with the transit group. He said he had noticed two vans and one car on the road nearby. He described one of the vans as looking like a ‘wagon’ and he said the vehicles were white with a green stripe and had ‘police’ written on the side. When asked if they noticed any other surveillance equipment, the respondent said that the police carried binoculars, but he was not sure if they had used them.

The respondent said that the police then beat the group with long sticks, and hit and kicked them with their hands and feet. They also used the belts from their trousers to beat them. He also detailed that the police deliberately released the dogs on them by relaxing the leads over and over so that they could attack. He said that the police made no attempt to stop the dogs from attacking, and three men in the group were bitten badly. The respondent confirmed that the minors were reportedly also subjected to the same level of violence as the other men. According to the respondent, one of the men in the group was punched so hard in the face that it caused damage to his lips. 

The respondent said that after the beatings, they had many of their belongings stolen. He had his phone stolen, which was worth 250 euros, and also had 280 euros in cash stolen. The officers also took his bag and his shoes. At the time of taking the testimony, he said he was left with nothing and had been unable to contact his family for four days.

According to the respondent account, if someone had a ‘fancy’ phone, the police would take it for themselves, but if someone had a ‘non-fancy’ phone, it would be broken to the point where it could not be used and then returned to them. Five cell phones were returned to people in the transit group, but the charging bases and screens were completely broken.

After the group was beaten, the police drove them to what was described as a detention centre. The respondent said that the drive to the detention centre was 1.5 hours from where the police found them. The respondent said that all 15 men were put in a cell together. He described that the door was locked and they did not see anyone again until they were released and driven back to the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina. They were not given any food or water. 

When asked whether intent to claim asylum was expressed, the respondent said that there was no opportunity to talk, and if they did, no one would listen to them. He further detailed that the police spoke to them in a language that they did not understand, he presumed it was Croatian, and that they were not given access to a translator the entire time. When asked, the respondent said that no one in the group was able to document what had happened, as all of their phones had been taken.

Reportedly, the transit group was detained for about four to five hours. It was then a 2.5-hour drive from the detention centre back to the border, where they arrived around 8:00 am. The detention centre could therefore be the ‘Reception Centre for Foreigners’ in Ježevo, as this is 1hr20 away from Oriovac or 1hr40 away from Slavonski Brod. 

The respondent said that when they crossed back over the border to Bosnia-Herzegovina, they were in a town with a Mosque, where they spent a night before returning to Sarajevo.