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“After you strip, they make you squat. I don’t know why they do this” Group of 14 forced to get completely undressed
On the night of 19th of October 2025, our interviewee, a 23-years old man from Sierra Leone traveled from Bihać, BiH, to Croatia together with 14 other men and women from Sierra Leone, Somalia, Nepal, Pakistan, and other countries. After walking for 13 hours in the forest, the group was stopped by two Croatian police officers in blue uniforms.
The town of Bihać, where the group returned to after the pushback.
The respondent reported that the officers ordered the people to take off their shoes and they collected them. They made them walk through the forest bare foot for 30-40 minutes. One of the men from Sierra Leone cut his foot while walking. One officer was leading the way, and the other one was walking behind everyone and shot his gun into the air, making people scared for their lives, thinking that they were being shot at.
The group arrived at a police van. There were two other police officers there, wearing black protective face masks covering the part of their faces under the eyes, “so that you don’t recognize them well. It’s so wicked really, so wicked,” told us our interviewee. The two officers called people forward one by one and forced everyone (including women) to remove all their clothes, including their underwear, and squat on the ground. “After you strip, they make you squat. I don’t know why they do this.”
The masked officers confiscated all their belongings, especially mobile phones, chargers, power banks, and money. They yelled at them in Croatian, probably swearing and insulting them. They were also beating people with their batons. One of the men from Sierra Leone sustained injury on his neck where he was hit (see photo).
Then the two masked officers ordered the group to go back to BiH across the border. It was pitch dark and the group asked to have their phones back, at least one, or a flashlight, so they could find their way through the forest, but the officers denied it. They returned them their clothes and shoes and forced them to cross the river.
The group wanted to cross the river a bit further where it was shallow, but the officers forced them to enter where the water was deeper. When the people were about to step into the river slowly, they pushed everyone in from behind. A woman fell in and someone rescued her.
The group arrived at a police van. There were two other police officers there, wearing black protective face masks covering the part of their faces under the eyes, “so that you don’t recognize them well. It’s so wicked really, so wicked,” told us our interviewee. The two officers called people forward one by one and forced everyone (including women) to remove all their clothes, including their underwear, and squat on the ground. “After you strip, they make you squat. I don’t know why they do this.”
The masked officers confiscated all their belongings, especially mobile phones, chargers, power banks, and money. They yelled at them in Croatian, probably swearing and insulting them. They were also beating people with their batons. One of the men from Sierra Leone sustained injury on his neck where he was hit (see photo).
Then the two masked officers ordered the group to go back to BiH across the border. It was pitch dark and the group asked to have their phones back, at least one, or a flashlight, so they could find their way through the forest, but the officers denied it. They returned them their clothes and shoes and forced them to cross the river.
The group wanted to cross the river a bit further where it was shallow, but the officers forced them to enter where the water was deeper. When the people were about to step into the river slowly, they pushed everyone in from behind. A woman fell in and someone rescued her.
The injuries on one of the men after being hit on the neck.
In the cold night, the people in wet clothes were trying to find their way through the forest for about two hours in the dark, always returning to the river, turning back, and trying another direction. When they finally reached a road, there was an abandoned building. They stayed in the building until the morning. In the morning, they walked on the road and someone stopped and helped them to call a taxi. It took about an hour to reach Bihać by car from that location.
overview
14 people ,
from Sierra Leone, Somalia, Nepal, Pakistan,