Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) – Danish aid workers stationed in the Balkans have claimed they were brutalized by Croatian law enforcement officers while trying to enter the European Union nation.
Nicola Bey, head of the Danish Refugee Council in Bosnia, told the Associated Press on Friday that 149 migrants of various nationalities, who had been independently interviewed by their staff in the country over the past 10 days, had been exposed to “extremely abusive” behavior by Croatians. Police.
The two testimonies include allegations of brutal and prolonged beatings, stripping people naked and forcing them to speak like logs on top of each other, adding: “In two cases, we have reports of serious sexual abuse.”
Bosnia, never truly since the 1992-95 war, became a barrier to thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa to Europe three years ago, while other countries closed their borders and blocked migration routes. Balkans.
After entering Bosnia, most migrants walk northwest toward the country’s extremely porous 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) border with Croatia, one of the last entrances to northern Europe.
Bay said testimonies collected from groups that were not in contact with each other included similar descriptions of the violence.
He added, “The similarities between these accounts are so cool that they systematically draw attention to examples of abuse … (men in black uniforms and with black haircuts)” hiding their faces.
The DRC’s secretary general, Charlotte Slante, called the testimonies “horrific” and called for a “ban on the systematic use of violence” in a written statement for immediate action.
Slant added, “This kind of treatment of human beings … regardless of their migration status, cannot and should not be accepted by any European country, or any EU organization.”
Human rights groups have accused Croatian police of years of brutality and illegal immigration pressure, which Croatia has repeatedly denied.
Calls on the Croatian police press office fee were unanswered on Friday. Croatia’s Interior Ministry said earlier this week that it was “investigating the DRC’s allegations with the aim of removing any suspicions about the conduct of Croatian police officers or approving and removing any irregularities.”
Immigrants interviewed by the DRC in Bosnia received visible injuries that were also reflected in a series of disruptive photographs shared with the AP.
Separately on Friday, in a makeshift camp in northwestern Bosnia, several other migrants suffered nursing injuries, saying they were repressed by Croatian police after they managed to gain entry into the country earlier this month.
“When they caught us, they started beating us with sticks and kicking us as if they were animals … before taking us back,” said a young man from Bosnia, Bangladesh, in a camp near the Croatian border, where hundreds of migrants were trapped. Is. .
The man, who asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions, said Croatian police also seized the migrants’ equipment, such as mobile phones and money.
Another foreigner, who identified himself as Muhammad of Pakistan, claimed that he had entered the country two weeks ago after Croatian police set up dogs on him. He showed injuries to his arms and legs.
Dઝાnza Mijatovic, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, expressed concern about recent allegations that the Croatian government’s personal response was “to refute reports published by NGOs or as a result of investigative journalism.”
Mijatovic said in a written statement that despite the Croatian government saying all allegations were being investigated, “credible reports of such violations continue.”
Mijatovic said the sad thing is that these reports indicate that violence and de-humanitarian acts are on the rise with pushbacks, and that it appears that Croatian law enforcement officials continue to be blamed for such serious human rights violations.
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