This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Behaviour of the Croatian police was worse than all the police in the countries we passed through
Six brothers and sisters from Afghanistan, traveled from Bosnia to Croatia during the night of the 13th of February, 2026. The oldest 25-year old brother, who is the respondent of this story, reported the following:
“I am 25 years old. I came all the way from Afghanistan through irregular migration with my three underage sisters and two underage brothers — we are six in total. I honestly thought maybe the police in Turkey, or in Serbia, Greece, or North Macedonia might be very harsh, but I never expected this from Croatia, a European country and a member of the Schengen Area. Their behavior was worse than all the police in the countries we passed through. By nature, we are already unfortunate people. We have already suffered a lot. Since I started this journey, I have had to be a father, a mother, and a friend to my sisters and brothers. When a child sees the police, they should feel safe — not fear, stress, and nightmares.”
“I am 25 years old. I came all the way from Afghanistan through irregular migration with my three underage sisters and two underage brothers — we are six in total. I honestly thought maybe the police in Turkey, or in Serbia, Greece, or North Macedonia might be very harsh, but I never expected this from Croatia, a European country and a member of the Schengen Area. Their behavior was worse than all the police in the countries we passed through. By nature, we are already unfortunate people. We have already suffered a lot. Since I started this journey, I have had to be a father, a mother, and a friend to my sisters and brothers. When a child sees the police, they should feel safe — not fear, stress, and nightmares.”
“How can police officers from a European Schengen country treat underage children like this?”
Location where the group departed
The respondent reports that when they departed from Bosnia, they walked sixteen hours until they crossed a highway where they were apprehended by eight Croatian male police officers. The police took them to the side of the highway and directed them to go into a forest. The police kicked one of the children on his ankle while he was sitting down. After that, the Croatian police took their bags, phones, money and conducted a body search on the whole group, including three minor girls.
The respondent describes: “In this cold weather, when a migrant has only one bag with warm and dry clothes, and the police take it… when they take the money that could be used for food, a bus ticket, or a taxi… when they take the phone that could be used to contact family or even to call for help in an emergency — what is left? And when underage girls are searched by a male police officer, does that officer understand that such a body search can become a lifelong nightmare for that girl? Even in Turkey or in countries like Iran that we crossed, the police never took a migrant’s money or phone. I don’t want to say that all Croatian police are like this — I am only speaking about what I experienced. But how can police officers from a European Schengen country treat underage children like this?”
The respondent describes that the officers insulted the group – demanding that they should quickly go back to Bosnia, and firing shots to scare the group. Then, the officers forced them into their three vehicles, one of which was a Toyota and the other two were minibuses.
The respondent describes: “In this cold weather, when a migrant has only one bag with warm and dry clothes, and the police take it… when they take the money that could be used for food, a bus ticket, or a taxi… when they take the phone that could be used to contact family or even to call for help in an emergency — what is left? And when underage girls are searched by a male police officer, does that officer understand that such a body search can become a lifelong nightmare for that girl? Even in Turkey or in countries like Iran that we crossed, the police never took a migrant’s money or phone. I don’t want to say that all Croatian police are like this — I am only speaking about what I experienced. But how can police officers from a European Schengen country treat underage children like this?”
The respondent describes that the officers insulted the group – demanding that they should quickly go back to Bosnia, and firing shots to scare the group. Then, the officers forced them into their three vehicles, one of which was a Toyota and the other two were minibuses.
Location where the group was apprehended by Croatian police
When the three vehicles approached the Bosnian border they were abandoned in a remote place. From here they had to walk 10 kilometers until they managed to get a taxi to return to the Lipa temporary reception center.
legal analysis
Children are especially vulnerable and at risk of being abused or exploited (ECtHR, S.F. and Others v. Bulgaria, App no. 8138/16, 2017, § 79). The rights of minors are thus additionally safeguarded by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as well as by specific articles of the treaties (e.g. Art. 24 EUCFR). Pushbacks are never within the best interests of the child. Whilst all pushbacks are informal and therefore an inherent violation of the principle of non-refoulement, the pushback of children in particular further violations the CRC.
In particular, the degrading treatment and strip searching of all the group, including minors, suggests a violation of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment (Art. 5 UDHR, Art. 7 ICCPR, Art. 1 UNCAT, Art. 3 ECHR, Art. 1 and 4 EUCFR). The use of strip-searching appears neither necessary nor proportional, and was not conducted as a last resort measure nor with the appropriate concern for dignity.
overview
6 people ,
from Afghanistan,
aged between 13-25.