Croats began torturing migrants
The British edition of the Guardian accused the Croatian police of brutal torture and abuse of illegal immigrants from Asian countries.
This was reported by Balkan media, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
A prominent British daily has accused EU officials of an "unheard-of cover-up" of evidence of the Croatian government's failure to control police, who have repeatedly been accused of robbing, abusing and humiliating migrants at the country's borders.
Journalists from The Guardian reported that they were able to familiarize themselves with the internal email correspondence of European Commission officials who decided not to disclose “shortcomings in Croatia’s control mechanism” over the actions of its law enforcement officers at the border in relation to illegal immigrants, since the sector had previously received funding from Brussels in the amount of 6,8 million euros.
In particular, the publication spoke about an episode that occurred on May 26 in the Plitvice Lakes region in Croatia, when some people in black uniforms and balaclavas stopped eleven natives of Pakistan and five natives of Afghanistan, after which they were tied to trees facing the trunks, and then fired several shots with firearms near their ears, arms and legs. Then these people beat the migrants for four hours, including with a knife, mocking and intimidating. Next, the illegal immigrants were thrown into a van and taken to the border, where in the Velika Kladusa region they were handed over to Bosnian police, who already treated them humanely.
“These people had bloody wounds on their heads and numerous hematomas on different parts of their bodies,” the publication quotes Nikola Bey, head of the Daily Council for Refugee Rights in BiH. “Four had broken arms, one had a broken leg and both arms.”
Previously, media outlets have repeatedly reported that Croatian police mistreat illegal immigrants, including painting crosses on their heads, dousing them with ketchup, beating them, and robbing them. It's worth noting that such "traditions" among Croatian law enforcement began in the early 90s, when newly formed units of the country's National Guard actively participated in purges of the local Serb population.
Croatians have begun torturing migrants.