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Escaping state violence in china only to face it in europe
On the night of 21st of October, our interviewee, a 45-years-old woman fleeing from political persecution in China left Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in a group of six people, to cross the border to Croatia. Four people were from China and a family of two from Azerbaijan – two women and four men in total.
The town of Bihać, where the respondent started their journey.
After crossing the border in the hills, the group was apprehended by 6 Croatian police officers in blue uniforms. The officers beat the people with their fists and by kicking them, especially the men, and only spared the child and elderly. They kicked our interviewee in the knee. They also smashed everyone’s phones completely and returned them unusable and unfixable. Our interviewee told the officers that she wanted to apply for political asylum, but they ignored her.
The respondent’s phone which was broken by Croatian police officers
Then they forced people to walk back across the border to BiH in a queue one by one at gunpoint. The pushback happened about 16 km from Bihać and the group had to walk back down a steep hill for 4-5 hours in the middle of the night.This was the third time our interviewee was pushed-back by the Croatian police. The previous time, she told us, her friend’s money, ID card, bank card, and passport were confiscated by the Croatian officers.Our interviewee was in psychological distress and cried while telling us about the pushback. The police violence she experienced traumatized her because she had been beaten and tortured by the Chinese police for political reasons. It was difficult after leaving her home, all her belongings, and entire life behind to escape state violence to face the exact same kind of violence again, she told us. The only thing she wants is to find safety and apply for asylum anywhere. She has been denied this right in BiH and in Croatia several times.
overview
6 people ,
from China and Azerbaijan,
aged 45.