Report on Systemic Police Violence and Push-Backs against ...moving-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/28.01.2016_Report-… · There was a lot of violence from the police against

Belgrade,28/01/2016

ReportonSystemicPoliceViolenceandPush-BacksagainstNon-SIAPeople

ConductedbyCroatianAuthorities

Content:

a) Thesituationofnon-SIApeopleonthe“Balkanroute”b) ThesituationinBelgradec) Push-backsandpoliceviolenceconductedbyCroatianauthoritiesd) Testimoniese) Conclusion

2 SystemicPoliceViolenceandPush-Backs

“Thisisnotanequaldistributionofrights”

RefugeefromPakistaninBelgrade,23/1/2016This report is a product of the observations, conversations and interviewsconductedbyindependentactivistsfromtheMovingEuropeProjectwithpeoplewhoaretryingtoreachcentralornorthernEuropeanddonothaveSyrian,IraqiorAfghaninationality.Wehavespentthetimeperiodfromthe11thtillthe25thofJanuaryinBelgradeandintheSerbo-CroatianborderareaaroundAdaševciandŠid.1)Thesituationofnon-SIApeopleonthe“Balkanroute”On18thofNovember2015,thebordersalongthestatecontrolledBalkanroutewere closed for all peoplewho do not have Syrian, Iraqi or Afghani travellingdocuments(inthefollowing“SIA”).Suchpracticesareincontradictionwiththeprescription of international law which stipulates that protection should begrantedonanindividualbasisandnotbasedonnationality.Thepracticeofsegregatingpeoplebasedonnationalityanddenyingallnon-SIApeople to enter and travel further is implemented by the Greek, Macedonian,Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian authorities. Although there has not been anofficialstanceonthisunlawfulsegregationbyGermanyoranyotherEUcountry,itcanbeassumedthatithasbeenimplementedunderthepressureoftheEUinordertoreducethenumberofpeoplearrivingincentralEurope.Result of this segregation is a politically created humanitarian crisis and theendangering of thousands of people. Thousands of people are stranded inGreece. As a consequence of their denial to travel on the official route, peoplestarted to findotherways tomovetowards theNorth.Thesewaysoftenentailwalking for days through forests with no possibility to receive any form ofsupport. In the current cold winter weather, with rain, snow and minustemperatures this is a dangerous endeavour that puts people in a vulnerableposition.On the followingpageswehavedocumented severalobservations, testimoniesandreportsaboutthestructurallyproducedhumanitarianandpoliticalcrisis:


2)ThesituationinBelgradeThe segregation along the Balkan corridor has produced a populationwithoutrights:ThepeoplestuckinBelgradearetotallydependentondonations,charityorganizationsandthepassivityoftheSerbianstatetomastereverydaylife.The people who manage to cross into Serbia by foot are then stranded inBelgrade. A lot of them arrive in Belgrade with very little financial means.Between200and500peopleare currently livingon the streets inBelgrade inthe area around themain train station. There are some support structures inBelgrade, thatprovidesomefood,clothesand informationtothepeople forcedto stay inBelgrade.However, there isnoplace forpeople to sleep.Theofficialstatecampforasylumseekers,Krnjača,onlyacceptspeopleaslongastheyhavea valid document. The transit documents people receive upon entry in to thecountryorwhentheyregisterwith thepolice for foreignaffairs,areonlyvalidfor 72 hours. After three days people have to sleep on the street.Thewaiting room in the train station, that has served around 40 people as ashelter at night has been closed on the 24th of January. People are no longerallowed to sleep there. The temperature at night during the past weeks wasaround-4°CinBelgrade.TheSerbianauthoritiesaswellasinternationalhumanitarianorganizationsarereactingslowlytothisuntenablesituationinBelgrade.Moreshouldbedonetofacilitate these people in need. However, the status of being without rightscannotbereduced to thehumanitarianprecarity thatpeopleareexposed to inBelgrade. It is theracistsegregationpracticesconductedbyallstatesalongtheBalkanandtheEUthatrenderlargegroupsrightlessandextremelyvulnerable.This policy produces obvious violations of international law and ofuncontrollablestateviolence.


RefugeessleepingatBelgradeCentralTrainStation,picturetaken28/1/2016byus

RefugeessleepingatBelgradeCentralBusStation,picturetaken28/1/2016byus


3)PushbacksandpoliceviolenceconductedbyCroatianauthoritiesThrough conversations and interviews conducted with many refugees fromdifferent nationalities and ages, we established that there are four grosssystematicrightabusesconductedbytheCroatianauthoritiesinCroatia,butalsointheborderzoneinŠid,onSerbianterritories.

a) Languagetestsbytranslators:Stateauthoritieshaveenforced theirbordercontrolsby the implementationofstrict language testsat thebordercrossing.Consequentlyhavinga registrationpaperstatingaSIAnationalityisnotenoughtocrosstheborderfromSerbiaintoCroatia. Contracted translators check accents and dialects while people arequeuingfortransit.Thetranslatorshavegainednon-negligibleexecutivepowerduringthelastweeks.Thelegalstatusoftheseproceduresisveryobscure.

b) Police-violence:AccountsandtestimoniesshowthatpoliceviolenceintheSerbo-Croatianborderarea isnot restricted to single cases.Policeviolence is enacted to frightenandmenace those refugees who are travelling outside the corridor. Thus it is astructuralcomponentofthesegregationandanecessarycompanionofthestatecontrolledandrestrictedcorridor.

c) Push-Backs:ThroughthegatheringoftestimoniesandinformalconversationswithpeopleinBelgrade and in the border areawe established that the illegal push backs ofpeople from within Croatian territories and territories controlled by Croatianauthorities inSerbiaareconductedbyCroatianauthorities ina systematicandregular manner. The push back of people from within Croatian territories toSerbianterritories,eveniftherefugeeshaveexpressedtheirwishtoseekasyluminCroatiaisagrossviolationoftheinternationalrighttoseekasylum.

d) Unaccompaniedminors:Wehavemetfivepeoplethatwereundertheageof18years,travellingbythemselves.TheyaccountedsimilarstoriesofpoliceviolenceandpushbacksfromtheCampinSlavonskiBrodaswellasdeniedentryonthetraininŠid.Minors are protected by international law as a very vulnerable group. ButaccountsandreportsshowthatthisstatusofspecialprotectionissuspendedontheBalkanrouteforthosewhichdonotbelongtoSIAnationalities.EU-memberstatesareknowinglyperpetuatingtheseviolationsofinternationallaw.We condemn the pushbacks and the use of violence against unaccompaniedchildreninparticular.


4)Testimonies

a) TestimonyofA.,16YearoldunaccompaniedminorfromMorocco:

Thistestimonywastakenonthe18thofJanuary2016atthemaintrainstationinBelgrade:

“I tried to cross in toCroatia four times, alwayswithadifferentRegistrationpaper.AttheSerbian-Croatianborder,thethreefirsttimesIwassentback.ThefourthtimeIwasabletoentertoCroatia.WhenIwasstandinginthelinetogetregistered [in Slavonski Brod], the translator pickedme out of the line andaskedmewhereIwasfrom.Isaid:“IamfromSyria,fromAleppo.”Hesaid:“Noyou are not fromSyria”. I said: “Sorry, I am fromMorocco, but I amonly 16yearsold,pleasehelpme!”Thetranslator lookeddownatmeandsaid: “No, Iwillnothelpyou”.Theybroughtmetoasmallplace,likeahouse,whereIhadtowait.Therewasnothing,nomattress,nofood.Weneversawanytranslatoragainthen,onlypolice.ThenextdaytheytoldusthatwearegoingtoSlovenianow.Wehadtogetintoapolicecar.Thenwehadtowalk7kilometersbyfoot.TheytoldusthisisSlovenia,butthenitwasSerbia.[…]Oneofmyfriendstriedtorunaway,buttheCroatianpolicecachedhimandbeathimhere[pointingathis left cheekbone]andhere[pointingathis left shoulder].Andatthelegs.Theywere violentandbeatinghim.Andwhen theymadeusget in to the cartheywerealsousingviolence.Croatiaisnogood!”

b) TestimonyofA.,16YearoldunaccompaniedminorfromPakistan:

ThistestimonywascollectedinBelgradeonthe26thofJanuary2016:

“Ifailedtopassforthe3rdtimelastnight.20peoplecamebackwalkingwithme. It’saverydifficult,4hour longwalkdownthe train lines.Serbianpolicedidn’tletmeandmyfriendsinthecamp[Šid].Wehadtosleepintheroad.20-25 people slept outside the camp [Šid] last night. I am traveling alone fromPakistan,allalone.”

c) TestimonyofO.,18-year-oldMoroccan:

Thistestimonywastakenonthe16thofJanuary2016atthemaintrainstationinBelgrade:

“Meandmycousin,weenteredCroatiafourtimes.Eachtimewewerecaughtby the Croatian police and pushed back to Serbia. Three times we came toCroatiabytrainandonetimewecrossedbyfoot.Everytime,theybroughtusbacktotheCroatianborder,butnotallthewaytotheborder,wehadtowalk6 kilometers on foot in the snow and the cold.Wewere always detained inCroatia for two days before they returned us. This happened four times.Wewent to Croatia, were detained for two days in the camp and then broughtback.TheCroatianpolicehitus.Wetriedandwepaidmoneytothepoliceandthe translators, but nonetheless they returned us andwe had towalk in thesnowandthecoldeverytime.


Therewasa lotofviolencefromthepoliceagainstus.Whenwewereheld inCroatiainthecampandattheborderwhentheymadeuswalkback.TheCroatianpolicedidnot letusaskforasylum.Wetriedandsaidwewantasylum, but they just shouted at us and returned us.The UNHCR andotherorganizationswere there in the camp, but nobody did anything for us.Only the police was there with us and they hit us andwe couldn’t speak toanyoneelse.WhenwewerereturnedtoSerbia,theSerbianpolicedidnotdoanything.Theytreat uswith humanity. The Croatian police is the problem. They hit us andpushusbacktoSerbia.Idon’tknowwhattodo.Theyhitusanduseviolence.Thereisnosolutiontothis.HereinSerbia,theproblemisthatwecan’tgotothecamp[Krnjača],becauseourregistrationpapersareexpired.Weliveinthestreet.Wedon’thavemoney,thereisnofood,thereisnosolution.Wewanttoleave,wewanttogoon,thereisnosolutionforushere.Wewanttolivelikehumans.ButtheproblemistheCroatianpolice.”

d) TestimonyofM.fromSomalia

ThistestimonywascollectedinBelgradeonthe23thofJanuary2016:

“Our group of around 50 Somalis is now waiting for one month here inBelgrade.Wehavetopay10Europernighttostayinahotel,butthatisveryexpensive forus.Wearewaitinguntil theborderwill beopened,wehavenootherchoice.Wecannotstayhereandwecannotgoback.Becauseofourskincolour,wecannotgototheborderwithfakepapers.Wearereadytosayourmessage:Europehastohelpus.”

e) TestimonyofI.,aPakistaniindividualtravellingwithfour

friends:I. told us about the very difficult situation he lived through in Pakistan. Hisbrotherandhisunclehadbeenkilledrecently.Thereforehisfamilythoughtitisbetter if he leaves the country. He then talked about the long and difficultjourneythroughIranandTurkeyandthemultipleattemptstoreachEuropebyboat.ThistestimonywasrecordedinBelgradeonthe24thof January2016,between5pm-8pm.

“Thisismystory,really:So,wecrossedtheseainaboat.Itwasverydangerous.ButIhadalifejacket,soIfeltsave.Afterweleft,the[Turkish]policecameandcaughtusandbroughtus tothepolicestation.ForonedaywewhereheldatthepolicestationinBodrum.Then,wetriedagainandwearrivedtoKos.Afterthat we went to Athens. There I went to an agent. I said: “I want to go toGermany.” He said: “You give me money and I will send you to Germany.” Iasked:“Howmuch?”Hesaid:“1000Euros.”AfterthatwewenttotheborderbyThessaloniki.Wewalked5kmtocrosstheborder.WeenteredMacedonia.Afterwegotintoonecar.10peopleinonecar!ForthreehoursweweredrivinginMacedonia.WegottoavillagebytheSerbianborderandenteredSerbia.Afterthat, we stayed in Serbia for one month. We cannot cross into Croatia. The


Croatianpolicesentusback.Now,westayinthestreet.Sowepaid1000EurosjusttocomefromGreecetoSerbia,1000Eurosperperson.Now,wedon’tknowwhat todo.Wehavenomoremoney.Wewant toask theUN tohelpus.Wedon’tknowwhattodo.Wearesleepingoutside. It isverycold. It isveryhardnow.Wedon’tknowwheretosleep.Onemonthnow.Weareveryhungry.Wehavenoteatenanythingalldaytillnow.ThesituationinBelgradeisveryhardforus.”

f) TestimonyofH.,a31yearoldindividualfromMorocco:ThistestimonywasrecordedinBelgradeonthe24thof January2016,between5pm-8pm:

“IflewfromMoroccotoTurkey,Istanbul,andtookabustoIzmir.ThereIwenttoabusinessman.HeorganisedthetripbyboattotheislandofChios.InChios,Igot documents.Moroccandocuments. Onemonth beforeMoroccandocumentswere no problem. But now they are a big problem. I then took the ferry toAthens.InAthensItookthetraintoThessaloniki.FromthereIwalkedthroughMacedonia.Iwalkedforsevendays.IarrivedinthecampinSerbia.IhadtoseeadoctorfromtheRedCrossandstayinthecampforfourdays,becausemyfeetwere seriously injured from all thewalking in the snow and the cold and therain.IthentookthetrainwithallthepeoplefromSyria,IraqandAfghanistantoŠid.InŠid,thepolicegavemeproblemsbecauseIdidnothaveanydocument.Sothey sentme back to Belgrade. In Belgrade I registered at the police station.TheytookmyfingerprintsandgavemeanIraqiregistrationpaper.Therewasnotranslatoratthepolicestation,sotheSerbianpolicewrotedownthatIamfromIraq.SoItookthepaperandwenttothebordercrossinginŠidagain.TheCroatian police was present in Šid and they had a translator with them. Sheaskedme:“whereareyoufrom?”Isaid:“I’mfromIraq.”Shesaid:“countfromonetoten.”Shewantedtotestmyaccent.ShecutmeoffwhenIreachedsevenandsaid:“youarenotIraqi.”Icouldnotpass.TherewasaproblematthecampinŠid.ThereweretreatingpeoplewhowerenotIraqi,notSyrianandnotAfghanidifferentlyinthecamp.Wewaitedtilltenorelevenatnightuntilwecouldgotosleep.Inthemorning,wegotsomethingtoeat,butnotthesamethingastheSyrian, IraqiandAfghani.Weweregivensardinesthatwerealreadyexpired.MeandmyfriendS.andothersgotverysick.TheRedCrosshelpedus.Theywereverykindand treatedeveryone the same.TheydidnotmakeadifferencebetweenMoroccans,AlgeriansorAfghanis.Aftertwodayswefeltbetter.After seven days we tried to cross the border on foot. It was very difficultbecauseitwasverycold.Wewalked120kmintoCroatia.Everydaywewalked50kilometrewithoutGPS.Weorientedusbythesun.WemadeonemistakeinCroatia.Croatiahasaproblem.TheCroatianpopulation is collaboratingwiththepolice.Wedidn’thaveanywaterleft,soweaskedforwater.Weaskedatahouse.Theygaveuswater,andfood,andchairstositoninfrontoftheirhouse.Weateandtheygaveuscigarettesandthenthepolicearrived.Thepeoplewhogaveusfoodandeverythingalsocalledthepolice.I’msorry,IloveCroatia,butthis was really hard for me. Everything is against us there. They call usterrorists.They callusmuggers.Butweare justpeoplewhoare looking fora


future.Everythinginthisstateisagainstus.ThepolicetookusandbroughtusbacktotheSerbianborder,10kmbeforeŠid.Wehadtowalkthe lastpartbyfoot. We arrived back in Šid. The next day, we took food and water and leftagain.Wewalkedfor140km.Atonetrainstation,thepolicesawusoncameraandcametocatchus.Theybeatus.Nottobad,butstill, theywerebeatingus.They pointed their guns at us. They asked uswherewe come from.Whenwesaid,weare fromMoroccotheybroughtusbacktoŠid theexactsamewayastheydidthefirsttime.Afterthat,wetriedtohideonacargotrainthatwasgoingfromŠidallthewayto Germany. But again, the Croatian police detected us through theirscaners/cameras. They treat us like terrorist. This is not the treatment IexpectedfromEurope.Werespectyou,Iexpectyoutorespectustoo.Thereisnodifferencebetweenus.Wearethesame.Theproblemliesinthemoralofpeople.NowIamstuckinBelgrade.ThesituationinBelgradeishard.Wesleepinthestreet.Yesterday,wetookthebustothecamp[Krnjača] inBelgrade.Wewereseven people.We asked and plead to sleep there, but they said no. Sowe left.Insteadofinthecamp,wesleptinsideanemptytrainthatwasstandinginthestation. It was very cold in there.Wewrapped ourselves in our blankets andtriedtosleep.Wewerefourpeople.I am31yearsold. I haveadiploma inMorocco.But I left because there isnofuture for me there. Either I can create a future for myself or I will diewonderingwhyitisnotpossibleformetohaveafuture.Why?Icannotgobackto Morocco. The Moroccan politicians give nothing to their people. ThepoliticianstravelandliveinEuropeandliveagoodlife.Andtheirfamiliesleadagoodlivetoo.Meanwhile,millionsofpeopleinMoroccodonotknowwhattheywilleatthenextday.That’stherealityinMorocco.”

g) TestimonyofH.,a24yearoldindividualfromMorocco:

ThistestimonywascollectedinBelgradeonthe26thofJanuary2016:“AssoonasIarrivedatthecamp[Šid]lastnight,therewerepoliceguardingthetrainwithrefugees.They’veputusinaline,onebyone,andthentheyaskedforour papers. Thosewho had nonewere sent back by thepolice immediately. Iwentbacktothecamp,Isleptforalmost3hours,andthenthepolicecameandwehadtogototalktothetranslator.Herewewereplacedinaline,onebyone,in the direction of the translator. [presenting H. an image of a person] Yes,that’sher, that’s the translator.The translator ‘knew’ I'mnot Iraqibecauseofmyaccent.AllMoroccanswerepushedbackby the translator.30peopleweresentbacktoBelgradebytrain.Croatianpolicestrikesandhurtsall thosewhowant to cross the Croatian border. You need tomake public what’s going onhere.”


h) TestimonyofM.,a26yearoldindividualfromMorocco:ThistestimonywasrecordedinBelgradeonthe24thof January2016,between5pm-8pm:“I arrived toBelgradeon January11th, it is verydifficult to continue to travelfrom Serbia to Croatia. I took the train with a group. When we arrived toSlavonskiBrodtheCroatianpolice toldme: “Youarenot IraqinorSyrian,youcan’t pass.” They tookme to a room, they keptme there from 12pm – 20pm.Therewerearound40ofuskeptthere.Then,theytookustotheSerbianborder,makinguswalk7-8kilometrestocrosstheborder.WhenwereturnedtoSerbia,our documents valid for 72 hours, expired. Ever since I arrived to Serbia andsinceCroatianpolicekickedmeoutofSlavonskiBrod, Iamtryingtocrossthebordereveryday.Andnothing.CroatianpoliceoperatesinŠidtoo.Theyareveryviolent.I’veseenapersongettingkickedintheface,abovetheeyes,byCroatianpoliceofficer.Theymassacredhim.Wedon’tunderstandwhythisishappening,whytheyarenotlettinguspassthrough.Ididn’ttrytoaskforasyluminCroatia,becauseIdon’twanttostayinCroatia.Iwanttogotoadifferentplace.Somenights I sleepon thestreets inBelgrade, somenights I take the train toŠid tosleepinthecampthere,withoutmoney,withoutanything,withthehopetheyletmepass, aswearemany.Wehave tohide to enter in the camp in Šidas ourdocuments expired.We sleep there, andwe try to pass again, and again, andagain. Two days ago I tried to enter the Krnjača camp. They didn’t letme inbecausetheysaidmydocumentsexpired.Theguardattheentrancedidn’tletusin,hewassaying“Go,go,goaway!”.Iaskedhimwhyotherpeoplearewelcomedtosleep inthecamp,andwearetreat likeanimals.Weare left tosleep inthestreets,inthecoldandsnow,whileotherscanatleastgetwarminthecamp.Ididn’t try topass theborderon foot. It is too coldand I don’t know if I couldmake it in theseconditions.Therearemanypeople that tried tocrosson foot,butCroatianpolicecaughtthem.Ihaveseenpoliceviolence;IsawmanypeopleassaultedbyCroatianpolice.IhaveamessagefortheEuropeanUnion:Dosomethingforus,doitforallofus!Why some pass, and others sleep on the streets?Why some cross and othersdon’t?WehavearrivedallthewayfromGreece,wewalkedthroughMacedoniaonfootfor4days, justtobestuckinhere,for13daysnow,unabletofindandreach a placewherewe can live better,where our families can live better. Inplaces like Morocco, Algeria andmany others, a different type of war affectspeople. It is a coldwar. Because of it people have nomoney, they live on thestreets,theysleepinthewoodenbarracks,theyarejobless,lefttodiefromdrugsandpoverty.Wecan’tcontinuetolivelikethis.WespentalotofmoneytoarrivetoEurope,toarrivehere.Weneedtofindabetterlifeforourfamiliesandus.Wedeserveabetterlifealso,don’twe?’


The followingphotoswere sent tousbyM.He reported that thesephotosareshowinghisfriendswhowerebeatenupbypoliceinsidethetraininŠidinthenightof24thtothe25thofJanuary2016.



i) PhotosshowingdetentioninSlavonskiBrodThisphotowasgiventousbyanindividual,whichtookitinacontainerinSlavonskiBrod inwhichheandotherswerebeingdetainedbyCroatianpolicefortwodays.

j) VideodisplayingforcedreturntoSerbiaonfootThisvideowasgiventousbyaPakistaniindividual,whofilmedthewalkbacktoSerbiainthesnowontherail-tracks,afterbeingpushedbackbyCroatianpolice.Findithere:http://moving-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Video.mov


k) ReportfromindependentactivistsfromthebeginningofJanuary:

This statement has beenwritten by an autonomous group of activists able togatherdirectwitness testimoniesofhumanrightsviolationsthroughanArabictranslator,legalexpertsandnoborderactivists.

“IthascometoourattentionthatthereissystematicviolenceandunlawfulprocessescarriedoutbyCroatianpoliceofficersattheSlavonskiBrodTransitCampforMigrantsandRefugees.Wehavecollectedwitnessstatementsbyrefugeeslabeledas'non-SIA'(i.e.theircountryoforiginisneitherSyria,IraqnorAfghanistan)describingtheseactsofviolence,inhumanetreatmentandhumanrightviolations(non-refoulement).AconsistentracialprofilinghascausedbrutalresponsesbyCroatianpolicestaff.

Thismethodofsegregationbeginswhenmigrantsareforcedtolineupinaone-by-onequeueastheofficialtranslatorsaswellaspoliceforcesarbitrarilypickoutrandomindividualsandconsequentlyinterrogatethemabouttheircountryoforigin.Withouttheproperpaperworkandproofofidentitymanybecomesubjecttoracialprofilingandrandomselection.Inmostcases,thesepapersareeasilystolenorlostthroughchaoticanddangerousroutes.

AttheŠidtrainstationinSerbia(bytheSerbian-Croatianborder),thegroupoftranslatorsincludeUnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees(UNHCR)officialsthatattempttodetermineaperson’scountryoforigininamatterofseconds.Wemetagroupof5Pashtu-speakingindividualsthatwerepreventedfromboardingthetraintoCroatiasincetherewasnoPashtutranslatortoconfirmthattheywereindeedfromAfghanistan.Thisgroup,andmanyothersdetermined‘non-SIA’,areleftwaitinginlimboataguesthouseneartheŠidtrainstation.

AtSlavonskiBrod,onevictimofCroatianpolicebrutalityrevealedtousthatapoliceman,insteadofatranslator,pickedhimoutofthecrowdasa'non-SIA'.ThismanandseveralotherswerethentakenintoanICRC(RedCross)containerandlockedintherebythepoliceovernight.ThepoliceproceededtodrivethemhalfwayfromSlavonskiBrodtowardstheSerbianborder.TheywerethensubjecttobeatingsbytheCroatianpolicebeforebeinggivenharshorderstonotenterCroatianterritoryagain.Astheattachedvideoreveals,thosedetainedarelefttowalkinthesnow(andminusCelciusdegrees)backtoSerbia.

SuchwitnessaccountsofsimilartreatmentatthehandsoftheCroatianpolicearerisingonadailybasisattheŠidcamp.Morerecently,CroatianpoliceinformthosedetainedinthecontainersthattheyshouldrestwellsincetheywillbetakentoGermanythefollowingday(photostakenfrominsidethecontainersareattached).ItisonlyoncetheyexitthebackofthepolicevanthattheydiscovertheyhavebeenpushedbacktoSerbia.Witnessesdescribechildrenasyoungas10yearsoldforcedtowalkbackthe3-4kmalongthetraintracksbacktoSerbia.


Wemetover20peoplethatweresubjecttothisformofdetentionandpushbackatSlavonskiBrod,manyofwhichhadtoendurethisprocessbetween2to4timesduringthefirst10daysofJanuary.NoonewasgivenanyinformationonthepossibilityofseekingasyluminCroatia,whichistheirlegalrightevenasa'non-SIA'migrantorrefugee.Instead,theyareillegallypushedbackfromaEUcountrytoanon-EUcountry.ThesewitnessaccountsconstitutenotonlyexcessiveforcebeingappliedbytheCroatianpolice,whichisunlawfulunderCroatianlaw,butalsoviolationsofthevictims'rightstoseekasyluminCroatiaasensuredbyInternationalHumanRightsLaw[UDHR14(1),RefugeeConvention1951,EuropeanConventiononHR(art.2,3,and5),CAT(art.3)].WeurgeallresponsiblebodiesoftheCroatiangovernmentaswellastheCroatianpoliceforcetoinvestigatetheseallegationsandtoimmediatelyputanendtothetreatmentdescribedabove.

Freedomofmovementforall!”


ConclusionDuringthelastweekswetalkedtoaround100peoplewhoarestuckinBelgrade.Throughtheconversationsanddiscussionswiththeserefugees,werealizedthatthestorieswelistenedtowerenotonlysingleandisolatedpersonalexperiences,but that they formapattern:Apatternofstructuralviolence,which isenactedupontherefugeestopreventthemfromtravellingonandtoregaincontrolovertheir lives and futures. This is not done by Croatian authorities alone. Thisstrategy is part of an EU-wide strategy to restrict flight, migration and thefreedomofmovement.The violation of refugees’ fundamental rights and the production of a state ofexception are the consequences of the unlawful segregation and the brutalrestrictionoftheaccesstotheBalkancorridortowardsWesternEurope.Violence,fencesandisolationareoncemoretheanswersoftheEuropeanUniontothepowerofthemigrationmovements.But theEuropeanUnionhas not learned from the pastmonths. It has becomeclearduringthesummer2015thatthepowerofmigrationmovementscannotbe stopped. Fences and violence will only inflicts more danger and sufferinguponrefugees.Only a politics of equal rights and freedom of movement for all can endsystematicstateviolenceandtheproductionofarightlesspopulation.

“IhaveamessagefortheEuropeanUnion:Dosomethingforus,doitforallofus!Whysomepass,andotherssleeponthestreets?Whysomecrossandothersdon’t?WehavearrivedallthewayfromGreece,wewalkedthroughMacedoniaonfootfor4days,justtobestuckinhere,unabletofindandreachaplacewherewecanlivebetter,whereourfamiliescanlivebetter.InplaceslikeMorocco,Algeriaandmanyothers,adifferenttypeofwaraffectspeople.Itisacoldwar.Becauseofitpeoplehavenomoney,theyliveonthestreets,theysleepinthewoodenbarracks,theyarejobless,lefttodiefromdrugsandpoverty.Wecan’tcontinuetolivelikethis.WespentalotofmoneytoarrivetoEurope,toarrivehere.Weneedtofindabetterlifeforourfamiliesandus.Wedeserveabetterlifealso,don’twe?”

(M.fromMoroccoon24/1/2016)

ThisreportwaswrittenbySelmaBanich,LukasGerbigandAdrienneHomberger28thofJanuary2016info@moving-europe.orgwww.moving-europe.org

Report on Systemic Police Violence and Push-Backs against ...moving-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/28.01.2016_Report-… · There was a lot of violence from the police against

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