A citizen of Algeria, who, as part of a group of compatriots, tried to cross the border of Croatia, said in an interview with TRT that he was a victim of abuse by the police of the country.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he was traveling along the “Balkan route” and tried to come to Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of a group of six compatriots. Among migrants, it has long been known that Croatian police often display violence against them.
“It’s important to cross the border in the early morning. If you are detained at night, they will beat you. The policeman who beat me was wearing a mask. This is specially done so that they can’t be recognized later”, – said the Algerian.
“We were going to Zagreb, and at some point one of the group went to check if the path was clear. He returned with a policeman who pressed the barrel of a gun to his head. He ordered us not to move and called for another one”.
Earlier, Croatian President Kolinda Kitarovich Grabar shocked European politics and the public with a statement that violence must be used against illegal migrants, although such unnecessarily brutal acts contradict both local and international laws.
Non-governmental organizations, in particular, Human Rights Watch, repeatedly pointed to unacceptable cruelty against migrants in Croatia. In particular, the latest HRW report said that it forces people to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, in turn, is not able to provide normal conditions for accommodating such a large number of people.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Refugees and Migrants of Serbia also accused the Croatian police of cruelty towards these persons. According to an official statement, law enforcement officers of a neighboring state were repeatedly seen in unlawful actions, and recently they brutally beat a young adult from Afghanistan. He was separated from a group of migrants, locked up, and then beaten by four police officers.