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In front of everybody, the Croatian officers started to beat two men with batons [...]

Date & Time 2018-10-21
Location Along the highway E 71, Croatia
Reported by Independent person
Coordinates 45.22453419, 15.26817893
Pushback from Croatia
Pushback to Bosnia
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved yes
Men involved yes
Age 5 - 5
Group size 15
Countries of origin Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 3
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), theft of personal belongings, theft of personal documents
Police involved 3 Croatian officers, 1 white van

The group of 15 started from Bihać (BIH) on October 16, 2018. After they crossed the border to Croatia, they continued walking until they were on the highway E 71 close to the town of Ostarije (HRV).

It was around 10 am when the authorities arrived with a white van and transported them to a police station. There were already three families with two under five-year old girls waiting, who had previously been caught while crossing Croatia.

In front of everybody, the Croatian officers started to beat two men with batons and ripped off all the documents they signed at the police station before arriving at the border. They also ripped the medical papers of one individual who suffered a walking disability caused by an explosion in Afghanistan. This was the fourth push-back for him. The other times, the officers had left him next to Bihac at Lohovo (BIH).

At around 9 pm of the same day, all people on the move were pushed back to the Bosnian side of the border in a forest next to Poljana (HRV), 20 km from Velika Kladusa.