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“The Police forced us to walk in the freezing river after a pushback to Bosnia”
The respondent is a 27-year-old man from Egypt, who was travelling with two co-nationals. On the 18th of September 2025 around 19:00, the group left Bihać and, after approximately a seven-hour walk, reached the designated border area (location indicated). After crossing the border, the three people walked for about thirty minutes inside Croatian territory, where they encountered a bus carrying another ten people (eight Afghans and two Moroccans). The driver offered to take them to Zagreb for 20 Euros each. Everyone paid without receiving a ticket.
Location where the pushback took place
After about an hour of travel, the driver stopped at a rest area, left the bus, locked the passengers inside, and called the police, reporting that he had picked up irregular migrants at the border. Within minutes, two police officers arrived, made the thirteen men get off the bus, lined them up, and asked for their documents. After verifying the absence of visas, the officers called a police van to return them to Bosnia.The thirteen were loaded into the van and driven back to the border. Once in front of a river, they were forced, at gun point, to undress and enter the water. Everyone obeyed except for one Moroccan man, who had a gunshot fired close to his leg; frightened, he then followed the others.The thirteen were forced to walk for more than ten minutes, naked, in the freezing Una river (location indicated) at night while the police kept on verbally abusing them. The respondent reports that he twisted his knee after stepping on a slippery stone; the injury still affects his mobility to this day.
After being allowed to move out of the river, the police threatened the group with more violence if they attempted crossing the border again. They reassured them by saying they were headed back in the direction of the closest camp in Bihać. The police officers then left, leaving the group without any clothes or belongings in the middle of the forest.After approximately a two-hour walk, the group reached a small village near Bihać, where they were assisted and brought back to Lipa camp. They remain there to this day.
medical analysis
The interviewee showed clear signs of the physical abuse he reported during the pushback. Upon medical examination near Lipa camp, he received treatment from our medical staff. His right knee was bandaged and immobilized, presenting an evident dislocation consistent with his account of slipping on a stone while forced to walk naked in the freezing river.
overview
13 people ,
from Morocco, Egypt, Afghani,
aged 18/35.