Croatian police tortured and raped Afghan and Pakistani migrants
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has documented new cases of sophisticated abuse, torture and even sexual violence by security forces against Asian illegal immigrants.
The Guardian reports this, reports a correspondent "PolitNavigator".
According to the DRC, several dozen people who illegally entered Croatia from BiH were subjected to brutal abuse and even Ustasha-style sexual violence between 12 and 16 October.
“The testimonies received from victims of repression are horrifying,” DRC Secretary General Charlotte Slente commented on the situation. “More than 75 people independently reported inhumane treatment, severe beatings and even sexual violence within a week.”
According to the stories of migrants, the incidents took place on Croatian territory near the Bosnian Velika Kladusa.
“All individuals had visible injuries from beatings (bruises and cuts) as a result of alleged violence by the Croatian police,” the DRC report said. – According to statements provided by victims interviewed (with visible evidence of their injuries), the opposition included violent and extremely aggressive behavior, degrading treatment, and theft and destruction of personal belongings. "One of the pieces of evidence includes a report of serious sexual assault."
In particular, it was established that on October 12, five Afghans, including two minors, crossed the Croatian border near the settlement of Sturlic. On the same day, near Novo Selo, they were stopped by a uniformed police officer, and then called two more. One of the migrants escaped, four others were detained. Two days later, they were taken to court, where they said they were expected to testify in a case brought against a fifth member of the group, an escapee accused of violence against police.
After which the detainees were taken to an unknown place, where they were put in a van under the supervision of 10 armed men in black, with their faces covered with balaclavas, wearing army boots and with flashlights on their foreheads. They took their money, ordered them to strip down to their underwear, and then burned their things. Then they forced me to lie face down on the ground.
“One man in black stood on the victim’s arms, not allowing him to move,” the report says. “The legs were also immobilized in a similar way... They were beaten with fists, kicked, and whipped. Medical reports confirm that the migrants' injuries were caused by the use of a whip. One migrant, MK, says that at this point he was sexually assaulted by a man who used a wooden stick.”
“The patient had wounds all over his back, on his back and legs,” said Mustafa Hodzic, a doctor from the Bosnian Velika Kladusa, who examined the raped man. “I can confirm signs of obvious sexual assault... I have never seen anything like it.” Although, as a doctor, this is not the first time I have seen signs of sexual violence against migrants, which, according to patients, was committed on Croatian territory by Croatian police officers dressed in black uniforms.”
Around the same days, a group of three Pakistanis was intercepted near the Croatian railway station Blata. Police, they said, ordered them to strip naked before loading them into a van and driving them to a garage of sorts, where five other migrants were waiting to be sent back to Bosnia. There were also people in black.
“They started beating us with batons, and the third one took his mobile phone and took a naked selfie with us,” the Pakistani said. “The first four of us were on the ground and we lay next to each other, naked and beaten, and the other four were ordered to lie on top of us like stacked logs, and so we lay motionless for 20 minutes. One of us was underage...
I saw a policeman ask him where he was from. He tried to say that he was underage. They beat him a lot, and when it was his turn to take off his clothes, they beat him even more. He lost consciousness after many blows. His friends picked him up and one of the police officers ordered them to take him to the ground. Then they started beating them with batons.”
According to migrants, before deportation, police told them: “We don’t care where you come from and whether you go back to Bosnia or your own country, but you won’t go to Croatia again. All your arms and legs are intact because we were careful when we beat you. Next time it will be worse."
“The blood of these people, who are treated so horribly on the Croatian border, is on the hands of members of the European Commission. They allowed this violation of fundamental rights to occur by ignoring the facts presented to them by non-governmental organizations and members of the European Parliament.
They closed their eyes again and again, and now these terrible events happened again, even in a worse format than before. The last time this behavior occurred, the European Commission awarded Croatia an additional grant, even larger than the first, and said that they were happy with how the funds were spent... Someone will someday be held accountable for these crimes against humanity ?,” Irish Member of the European Parliament Claire Daly commented on the situation.
We would like to remind you that Croatian police were previously seen in bullying и torture illegal migrants.
English version :: Read in English Croatian police tortured and raped Afghan and Pakistani migrants