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Pushback and agression
The respondents were part of a group of 12 people who attempted to cross from Bosnia to Croatia on the 16th January, 2026. The group was in a forest waiting for cars that were supposed to take them to Croatia. The group reports that the police had cameras in some points of the forest to monitor the border.
Approximate location of apprehension.
Members of the group report that they were detected and pursued by the police using flashlights and dogs. When they were stopped, the police asked who the person guiding them was. Other members of the group did not provide any answer. The police then began to hit them with batons. Some people lost consciousness. Others suffered cuts and blows to different parts of the body, mainly to the back, arms, and legs, and in some cases also to the head.
After that, they were told by the police that ‘they would not reach Italy’. They were forced to undress, their mobile phones were broken, and all their clothes were burned. The twelve people were left in their underwear and were ordered to return the same way back to Bosnia. The group spent two days walking through the forest in their underwear, without clothes or food, eating ice. When they found a path, they followed it. They were later found by the police in Bosnia and taken away. The Bosnian police transferred them to a reception center on the border between Bosnia and Croatia, although the interviewee does not know the exact location (from the description, this center seems to be Lipa Reception Center near Bihać). There, they were provided with a bed, food, drink, clothing, and access to washing facilities.
overview
12 people ,
from Egypt, Libya,
aged 20-30.