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Croatian border police was so bad with us; they hit our feet with a stick, after we walked so many days in the jungle

Date & Time 2021-08-22
Location near Bihac border area
Reported by Anonymous
Coordinates 45.27136416, 15.2736098
Pushback from Croatia
Pushback to Bosnia
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 20 - 27
Group size 7
Countries of origin Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 4
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), destruction of personal belongings, theft of personal belongings
Police involved Four men in green uniforms

The respondent, a 21-year-old man from Pakistan, was pushed back from Croatia to Bosnia.

The respondent explained that he was part of a transit group of six other people from Pakistan, and on August 17th they started their journey from Lipa camp, walked through Bihac and crossed into Croatia.

The transit group reportedly walked for five days through Croatia, with the respondent adding that they were in the jungle and conditions were very difficult.

On August 22, the transit group was reportedly caught by approximately four men in green uniforms, which the respondent believed to be members of the Croatian Special Forces. The respondent could not recall the time and said it was early morning. He explained that the uniformed men found the transit group somewhere along the E71 road and that they were close to the Croatia-Slovenia border, and took their food, money and bags.

Afterwards, the officers reportedly forced the transit group to stay in a van all day and were taken to the Croatia-Bosnia border in the evening. The respondent recalled that the officers started hitting him and the other transit group members on their feet. The respondent’s feet were swollen when the testimony was taken.

According to the respondent, the officers left the group somewhere close to Bihać at night, he could not recall the time. They reportedly walked back to Lipa and arrived early morning on August 23rd. The respondent said he asked for asylum many times, but no one was listening or answering.