ZAGREB, 13 April 2022 - The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) NGO warned Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in an open letter on Wednesday of pushbacks and the failure to call to account those responsible for the violation of human rights of refugees and other migrants, which, it said, happen on a daily basis.

The CMS warns in the letter that Croatia has not been considered a humane country for a long time due to its treatment of refugees.

It notes that the Netherlands on Wednesday decided to suspend the return of refugees to Croatia under the Dublin Regulation due to unlawful and forcible expulsions to which refugees could be subjected.

"That is yet another embarrassment for the country you represent," the NGO said in the letter to Plenković.

It recalls having demanded that Plenković, after in November 2021 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against Croatia in the case of Afghan migrant girl Madina Hussiny, replace national police chief Nikola Milina, Border Police Directorate head Zoran Ničeno, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović and state secretary Terezija Gras.

The demand was repeated last week following reports that the ECHR ruling in the Hussiny case has become final, but Plenković again refused to do so, saying that the ruling was of an individual character and was not proof of any systemic problem for which the authorities could be responsible, the CMS says.

Recalling in its letter the ruling in the Hussiny case, the CMS also warns that two other cases against Croatia for the collective expulsion of refugees have been underway before the ECHR.

It notes that, according to media reports, refugees are provided with inadequate accommodation, such as in garages.

The CMS also warns that in the past six years there have been numerous reports by civil society organisations, domestic institutions for human rights protection and international institutions, as well as media reports and footage by domestic and foreign media, and testimonies by refugees and police officers, showing that this is a systematic, long-lasting and widespread practice.

"The gravest forms of violation of refugees' and other migrants' human rights in our country happen on a daily basis, and nobody has answered for it yet," the NGO says in the letter.

Following each report of refugees having been beaten up and pushed back, the Ministry of the Interior claimed that it was an isolated incident, as stated also by Plenković in a comment on the death of Madina Hussiny and systematic harassment of her family.

"Prime Minister Plenković, how many isolated incidents constitute systematic practice?" the NGO asks the PM in the letter, calling for the replacement of the responsible officials.

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ZAGREB, July 23, 2020 - The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) has filed yet another criminal complaint with the State Attorney's Office (DORH) against unidentified persons for allegedly torturing, humiliating and illegally expelling 16 refugees from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina in late May.

"This was testified by five refugees who suffered serious injuries, one of whom had both of his arms and a leg broken. It is frightening that such inhumane treatment was most probably motivated by their skin colour and the fact that they belong to the vulnerable refugee population," the CMS said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said that eight armed men wearing unmarked black uniforms and ski masks inhumanely treated people seeking protection, and that according to victims' accounts they were most probably members of a special police unit or an operation codenamed Corridor.

The armed men tied the refugees to trees, fired shots from pistols close to their ears and feet, beat them up using any objects at hand, and took away their belongings on pain of death. In the end, the men humiliated the refugees by rubbing mayonnaise, ketchup and sugar into the injuries they had previously inflicted on them, CMS activists said.

The men handed over the refugees to four police officers who then illegally expelled them to Bosnia and Herzegovina while many of the refugees could not even walk as a result of the injuries.

Cooperation between thugs and police

The refugees' testimonies point to cooperation between the thugs in black and the police, and the CMS expects DORH to establish the nature of such cooperation and whether the armed men in question were members of a special police unit. The CMS also expects DORH to conduct an effective and independent investigation and punish the perpetrators.

It is important to take into account statements by police officers about the police operation Corridor, whose description fits the description of the latest case and previous accounts by refugees, the CMS warned.

ZAGREB, June 5, 2020 - The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) on Friday filed a criminal complaint against unidentified police officers on the suspicion of degrading treatment and torture of 33 people, including two children, and their violent and unlawful expulsion from Croatia.

All the victims suffered torture and degrading treatment at the hands of the police, and according to their testimonies, police even marked them by spraying the top of their heads with orange paint.

"The lives of women, men, children, and families are threatened in this country on a daily basis. Refugees, by coming here to seek protection, as a rule, expose themselves to even greater risk. This risk is posed by the practice of police officers who illegally and violently expel people who are fleeing persecution," Antonia Pindulic, a lawyer for the CMS, warned at a press conference.

"In doing so, police use batons and guns, strip them naked in the middle of woods, taking away even their shoes, and this has been going on for nearly four years now," Pindulic said, adding that a new degrading practice was added in May as the police started marking refugees and other migrants.

"She said that in addition to the criminal complaint the CMS was ready to take other legal steps to protect the lives and dignity of those people.

The criminal complaint provides a detailed description of injuries inflicted, photographs and testimonies, and names many of the victims and witnesses.

The CMS demands that the State Attorney's Office (DORH) investigates the cases and punishes the perpetrators. It also wants the new leadership of the DORH to recognize the gravity of the alleged crimes and act in accordance with the law, thus breaking the practice of the previous leadership. 

"The police and the victims agree on one point, that there are no police records of these cases, which is not surprising because these are deliberate violations of rights and police officers are suspected of committing a series of crimes," Pindulic said.

After the tens of thousands of cases documented by video recordings, photographs, and testimonies, including testimonies by police officers themselves, the lawyer believes that such cases are not an exception but a rule.

"It is clear that this is a political decision and systematic violence and it must be brought to an end," Pindulic said, adding that she expected the police to abide by the law and the DORH to investigate the allegations of serious violations of the law.

ZAGREB, May 22, 2020 - The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) and the Welcome Initiative for migration rights staged a rally on Friday in front of the Interior Ministry's (MUP) building, calling on the ministry to conduct effective investigations into allegations of violence against refugees.

"Two weeks have passed since photographs were released showing refugees being marked with orange spray paint all over their heads, which the refugees say happened during unlawful pushbacks from Croatia," said Sara Kekus of the CMS.

During the rally, the activists held a banner saying "Humanity, not torture! Investigation, not denial!" and photographs of marked refugees.

We expect the ministry to produce concrete results following the investigation, instead of desperate attempts to defame the media and organisations dedicated to human rights' protection, said the protesters.

Activists criticised the Interior Ministry for their incomplete response to the inquiries about the unlawful treatment and the investigation. The Ministry had sent them a link to the press release initially directed at the British Guardian newspaper and the No Name Kitchen NGO.

This is not the first time the NGOs are calling for an investigation, they underscore, because for more than four years they have been witnessing that a lot of evidence has been submitted and the public still does not have the results of a single concrete investigation.

"It is up to us to show humanity, prevent further torture and violence and we demand investigations,  instead of your denial of responsibility" Kekus said.