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The minors were treated and beaten the same as the adults

Date & Time 2017-09-28
Location Županja, Croatia
Reported by No Name Kitchen
Coordinates 45.04214386, 19.1010614
Pushback from Croatia
Pushback to Serbia
Taken to a police station unknown
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved no
Men involved no
Age 13 - 21
Group size 11
Countries of origin Afghanistan, Pakistan
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 10
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, electric shock, destruction of personal belongings
Police involved 6 male police offociers in Croatian uniforms

A group of 11 people on the move from Afghanistan and Pakistan, including minors, were caught about 70 km from the Serbian-Croatian border, at a petrol station near Zupanja in Croatia. They were pushed-back near Batrovci, Serbia.

After the police apprehended them, they asked about their nationality, after which the first incidence of violence occurred. The police beat all of the men, with fists and kicked them. The police asked “who can speak English” and beat the ones who could not even more. The interviewee asked for water, without a response from the police.

The group was then transported to a push-back location at the border with Serbia near Batrovci, in one police van and two police cars. After arriving there, the second incident of violence occurred. The police beat them with batons (long black with handrest), fists, and kicked them on all parts of their body. They also administered electric shocks to the men.

The border police searched the men and checked their baggage. They broke the screens of their phones with sticks, but no belongings were confiscated. 4 of the 6 police officers took part in the beating of the men, and beat them one by one as they were released from the van. The minors were treated and beaten the same as the adults.

The people-on-the-move expressed their intention to seek asylum and explained their situation in Serbia, but the police told them: “no asylum, fuck it, go back to Serbia”.

Afterwards the men ran to the Serbian side and walked back to Šid. The police have injured the right knee of the interviewee badly. A few days later he still couldn’t properly move his leg and had to walk with crutches.