NGOs report that police violence against refugees temporarily ceased following another report on alleged misconduct.
Following a report on a new wave of police violence against refugees issued by civil society initiatives Are You Syrious? and the Welcome! Initiative last Monday, NGOs said that there have been no new reports of police violence at the border, reports Balkan Insight on 7th June 2017.
This was the third report on police violence issued this year by these organizations. Violence was also reported by a number of international NGOs – Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Doctors of the World (MDM), OXFAM, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and UNHCR Serbia. Refugees who try to cross the border into Croatia and seek asylum are allegedly brutally beaten by the police and pushed-back to Serbia, while also having their personal belongings and valuables unlawfully confiscated or destroyed by police officers.
The Police Directorate said in a statement that they will investigate any such claims, but denounced any insinuation that the violence is systematic or organized by the police. However, the NGOs report that violence temporarily stops after each report they issue and they find it indicative that the violence decreases or stops anytime the topic finds its way into the public eye, implying that it might be under orders.
You can read more on the latest report on police violence here.
