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Beaten during an epileptic fit
The main respondent is a man of 35 years from Algeria. He reports that on Sunday the 26st of May 2024 he was apprehended with 4 other people between the Croatian villages of Gornja Glina and Kutanja and later was pushed together with 2 minors, who haven’t been part of the group before, back to Bosnia in an unknown border location, probably along Una river close to the Bosnian village of Orašac. The group was composed by 1 Algerian and 4 Moroccan nationals, five men in the range from 16 to 67 years old. The group left Lipa camp on the 24th of May at around 11pm. After 1,5 to 2 hours by Taxi they crossed the border by foot. The group walked for around two days in the forest. The respondent described this part of the journey as particularly difficult because of a lot of thorny bushes and heavy rain, which made the ground slippery. He said it was especially hard for the old man but also for the others. That’s why they decided to leave the forest and to walk on the mountain road. After 8 km on the road they passed a new bridge and a cemetery. After this point a woman, who was cutting the grass in front of a house, saw them, stopped cutting immediately, ran into the house, came back with a phone and made a phone call. When the group saw this, afraid of her calling the police, ran approx. 700 m on the road to reach a group of trees and bushes next to the street and hid there.
Location of the pushback
The respondent said that after 5 minutes a police car passed the place without apparently seeing them. After 10 more minutes around 6pm the policemen came directly to the place they were hiding. The respondent stressed this out, because he had the impression, that the police exactly knew where the group was hiding. He was speculating about the use of a thermal camera. The respondent described the first vehicle as a white car with blue line on the side and police signs, driven by two policemen with light blue shirts and dark blue trousers. The two male policemen called the group to come out of the wood, told them to sit down and took all their phones. The respondent said, that they told them that they want to apply for asylum and that they want to be brought to a camp, but the policemen did not react to this, nor did they ask for documents or asked them to sign anything. According to the respondent, after ten minutes two white vans without windows in the back, with a side door and a backdoor, without any signing or badge arrived. Six male policemen wearing dark blue shirts without a badge, dark blue trousers and big boots came out of the vans. In this situation the respondent got an epileptic shock. The respondent said, that one of the policemen of the patrol car suggested the others to call the ambulance. But one of the policemen of the vans answered ‘I have his medicine’ and started to beat the respondent with his Tonfa. The others of the group tried to cover him, because the respondent was in a situation, that he was not able to react to the beating or to protect himself. They begged the policeman to stop (‘you will kill him’) and to please bring them to a camp, but instead the policemen also beat them.
Once shown the image galleries, the respondent could identify the uniforms of the two first policemen as being of Croatian Border Police (Granicna Policija) and the six later as being Croatian Intervention Police (Interventna Jednica Policija IJP) uniforms. He identified the first car as a regular police patrol car of type Opel Astra J und the vans as similar with the prisoner transport vans of the Croatian Border Police, but without any labels. After the beating they all had to enter one of the white vans. After a few minutes the respondent had a second epileptic seizure. Both vans left the place the group was caught and drove for around 1,5h. The vans stopped two times. One member of the group, who knows Croatian, heard the policemen asking others, if they also caught people. The drive was described as ok in the beginning, but then became very curvy and bumpy on the mountain road and the people in the back of the van had nothing to hold on to. The respondent described that it was especially hard for the old man and the minor not to get hurt. The air conditioning was very cold.
Once shown the image galleries, the respondent could identify the uniforms of the two first policemen as being of Croatian Border Police (Granicna Policija) and the six later as being Croatian Intervention Police (Interventna Jednica Policija IJP) uniforms. He identified the first car as a regular police patrol car of type Opel Astra J und the vans as similar with the prisoner transport vans of the Croatian Border Police, but without any labels. After the beating they all had to enter one of the white vans. After a few minutes the respondent had a second epileptic seizure. Both vans left the place the group was caught and drove for around 1,5h. The vans stopped two times. One member of the group, who knows Croatian, heard the policemen asking others, if they also caught people. The drive was described as ok in the beginning, but then became very curvy and bumpy on the mountain road and the people in the back of the van had nothing to hold on to. The respondent described that it was especially hard for the old man and the minor not to get hurt. The air conditioning was very cold.
They arrived at a place at the border close to a river at after 8pm and all had to leave the van. There they saw, that in the other van were two young men, the respondent said minors from Bangladesh. They also had to go out and all had to undress. The police took their money, according to the respondent from his group 1.800 EUR. Using a screwdriver, the policemen broke all the charge plugins of the phones they got from the policemen who first arrived and put them into a plastic bag. The respondent described how all members of the group and the two other minors had to sit on the ground with straight legs, hands on their knees, and the policemen beat all of them with their Tonfas, beginning at the feet and ending at the shoulders. If someone moved his legs or arms, they beat the head. The respondent showed wounds of the treatment on his arms, hands and legs. He said that even the old man was beaten and especially the 16year old minor was beaten a lot.
After this the policemen led them close to the river. They had to stand in a line and then to run one after the other through two lines of policemen, three on each side, into the river. All six policemen were beating them. The river was so deep that they had to swim, but the 67year old man and the 16year old did not know how to swim. The drift was very strong. The police threw the plastic bag with the phones into the river and the respondent managed to get it. The 67year old who couldn’t swim floated away, but the respondent was able to reach him and to carry him on his back swimming to the other side of the river. Two others of the group underhooked the minor, so all were able to reach the shore on the Bosnian side. The respondent described that after the river they found a lake and swampland before they reached a road. A Bosnian truck driver saw them, stopped and took them 10 km to the next main road. There they were able to take a Taxi. According to the respondent the Taxi driver knew them and was aware of their situation, so he didn’t want money from them for the ride at this moment. He was fine with being paid later and drove them back to Lipa camp. Since the respondent couldn’t identify the exact location of the pushback, according to the description of the border area we can suppose it was where Una river marks the border between Bosnia and Croatia, probably near the Bosnian village of Orašac.
After this the policemen led them close to the river. They had to stand in a line and then to run one after the other through two lines of policemen, three on each side, into the river. All six policemen were beating them. The river was so deep that they had to swim, but the 67year old man and the 16year old did not know how to swim. The drift was very strong. The police threw the plastic bag with the phones into the river and the respondent managed to get it. The 67year old who couldn’t swim floated away, but the respondent was able to reach him and to carry him on his back swimming to the other side of the river. Two others of the group underhooked the minor, so all were able to reach the shore on the Bosnian side. The respondent described that after the river they found a lake and swampland before they reached a road. A Bosnian truck driver saw them, stopped and took them 10 km to the next main road. There they were able to take a Taxi. According to the respondent the Taxi driver knew them and was aware of their situation, so he didn’t want money from them for the ride at this moment. He was fine with being paid later and drove them back to Lipa camp. Since the respondent couldn’t identify the exact location of the pushback, according to the description of the border area we can suppose it was where Una river marks the border between Bosnia and Croatia, probably near the Bosnian village of Orašac.
The respondent’s scars from the beating
overview
7 people ,
from Morocco and Bangladesh,
aged 16-67.