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Beaten when they refused to give the officers their belongings
The main respondents are two 22 year old Palestinian men. On the 15th November, 2025, cross from Bosnian and Herzegovina into Croatia on foot at night and walk 7 hours trying to reach a town where they can rest and travel to Slovenia.
Outskirts of small Croatian town (Novo Selo Koreničko) where they are intercepted by police
The respondents reported that they were intercepted by two Croatian border police officers that apprehend them. They threaten the two young men with a baton and ask them to give them their personal belongings. The respondents refuse which lead to them beating beaten with said batons both until they are on the ground. They are then forced to take off their jackets and beaten further. They then take their bags and pocket their phones and Palestinian IDs including their UNWRA cards. The laptop of one of them is broken and stepped on in front of his eyes. One of the police officers declares that he is Israeli and spits on the two men that are now laying on the ground hurt and without jackets in low temperatures.
Location of Pushback
They are then put into a police car and brought to the second location indicated where they are threatened with a gun to walk back into Bosnian territory. The young men have no money or phone and are forced to walk back to Bihac where they stay on the streets with no food for 3 days until a Bosnian man helps them.
legal analysis
The described incident is a violation of the right to non-refoulement, Article 33 of the Refugee Convention. Article 3 on inhumane treatment and basic needs of the European Convention of Human rights is violated through beating and exposure to extreme temperatures. Article 2 of the above mentioned convention is also violated through insults and the use of weapons to threaten them, forcing them into psychological strain.
overview
2 people ,
from Palestine,
aged 22.