Croatian Border Police Accused of Abusing Asylum Seekers

The Croatia-Bosnia border is heavily militarized and the source of allegations of migrant abuse. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) accused Croatian border police of perpetrating physical and sexual violence against asylum seekers crossing the Bosnia-Croatia border. The DRC collected testimonies, including photographic evidence and medical reports, from more than 75 asylum seekers within one week of the allegations.

The survivors, comprising both adults and minors, include refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Morocco. The abuses reportedly took place at a tented settlement housing roughly 700 refugees and migrants who intend to cross into Western Europe from the Bosnia-Croatia border.

For several years, international aid workers and UN officials have monitored systematic violence and abuse along the heavily militarized Croatia-Bosnia border. Since the DRC released their report, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has requested that the Croatian government independently assess the border situation.

The Croatian Interior Ministry denied allegations of abuse against migrants and released a statement claiming that the accusations of abuse lack “any facts or evidence, or even basic verifiable information.” Croatia agreed to launch an investigation into police conduct, stating that it intends to “remove any suspicion of actions taken by Croatian police officers” and “sanction and eliminate irregularities if, by chance, any have occurred.” 

The EU has received backlash from human rights leaders for allegedly tacitly endorsing Croatia’s border policy and failing to respond to the reports of violence. Last June, unearthed emails within the European Commission revealed that in order to avoid potential backlash, the EU withheld several years’ worth of evidence of migrant abuse perpetrated by Croatian police. The EU also previously ignored Zagreb’s refusal to institute a monitoring mechanism of its border patrol system, causing concerns over a lack of accountability.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized Croatian police for inhumane treatment of refugees. Amnesty International documented physical abuse against Afghan and Pakistani asylum seekers in June and condemned the EU for failing to hold Croatian officials to its very own standards of human rights. The most recent investigation by the DRC comes in response to an escalation of reports of mistreatment and violence in recent weeks. 

NGOs such as the Border Violence Monitoring Network and the No Name Kitchen have played a leading role in interviewing survivors and bringing their stories to light, and they have played a crucial role in corroborating the findings of the DRC.