28 March 2022 - The Jutarnji List daily on Monday commented on recent estimates presented by Interior Minister Davor Božinović that in the scenario that Croatia should care for 20,000 refugees, this would cost HRK 1.3 billion annually provided that the refugees exercise all the rights they are entitled to.

There are now roughly 10,000 Ukrainians who have found refuge in Croatia since fleeing the war in their country.

Croatia has undertaken to care for 20,000 refugees from that eastern European country.

According to rough estimates prepared by the Interior Ministry, the daily costs per refugee are 143 kuna (€19). This average is calculated from the average costs for the adult and for the underage refugee.

Of the 10,409 registered refugees, 50% are women and 40% are children. The daily outlay from the state budget for all of them stands now at HRK1.44 million (€199,000).

The structure of covered costs includes accommodation costs, healthcare, kindergarten and school attendance, one-off grants, as well as transport costs.

Two thirds of the costs go for accommodation.

ZAGREB, November 26, 2018 - The Electronic Media Council on Monday decided to temporarily suspend broadcasting licenses for television stations that aired the Bujica political talk show on November 5 in which anti-migrant hate speech could be heard.

The broadcasting licences will be suspended on December 3.

Z1, the Slavonia-Baranja TV station and the Osijek TV station will lose their broadcasting rights for 24 hours, while SRCE TV, Adriatic TV and TV Jadran will be off air for 4 hours.

After analysing the content of the talk show, which dealt with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Electronic Media Council decided that claims made in the show, hosted by Velimir Bujanec, constituted hate speech because they described migrants as terrorists and criminals and as people who intentionally spread infectious diseases.

The show's guests were Frano Ćirko, who was introduced as the leader of an organisation called Generacija Obnove, and Zoran Grgić, introduced as an independent analyst.

"The show host did not distance himself from such hate-mongering rhetoric, except for describing it as 'a bit radical', which cannot be considered an appropriate warning that such rhetoric is not allowed... the host himself set the tone of the discussion and incited hate-mongering, discriminatory and humiliating rhetoric against migrants," the Council said.

Its chair Josip Popovac stressed that the Council's decision in no way violated the freedom of speech, noting that there were no forbidden topics but that they should be dealt with professionally, which was not the case with the show in question.

Speaking of the accountability of the guests on the said show, Popovac said that he agreed with the proposal to report the case to the Chief State Prosecutor, noting that "such abuse of public media is unacceptable".

For more on the media in Croatia, click here.

There have been several allegations of Croatian police brutality against migrants attempting to enter Croatia from Bosnia and Hercegovina in recent weeks. Redfish media interviews the Croatian police, migrants and NGOs in an on-site documentary, released on November 18, 2018.

The recent report by The Guardian alleging Croatian police brutality against migrants on the border with Bosnia and Hercegovina (you can read more about that and the police response here) brought the issue of migrants trying to enter the EU into the international spotlight. A second, more detailed look at what is happening on the ground has been released by redfish media, a documentary report which talks to all sides of the problem - migrants, NGOs and the Croatian police, as well as asking if the tactics allegedly being used on this EU border are part of an agreed policy by the EU. redfish introduces the video, as follows:

"Everyone seems to have forgotten that refugees are still trying to find a safe home in Europe. Its borders are heavily fortified, and even when refugees manage to get in, more and more people are reporting that European border police are torturing, beating and illegally deporting refugees back out of the European Union. Meanwhile, the mainstream media and politicians deflect attention to "problems" caused by refugees inside the borders of the EU..

"redfish travelled to the border between Bosnia and Croatia to meet those victims of Fortress Europe for whom nobody seems to speak up anymore."

About redfish:

We started redfish to create a platform for the people who are at the heart of their own stories and to acknowledge that those stories are always part of a big picture which connects us all. - Visit the redfish website to learn more.

For the latest on the migrant crisis, keep up to date with TCN's dedicated section. 

“I feel sorry for these people,’’ says a Bosnian policeman on guard. ‘‘They remind me of the Bosnians when the war devastated our country.’’

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The Guardian published a featured article on the plight of migrants on the Bosnian - Croatian border on November 14, 2018. Entitled 'They didn't give a damn': first footage of Croatian police brutality, the article includes a video which The Guardian describes as 'footage shows asylum seekers allegedly beaten by Croatian police'.

The video is part of a wider report by The Guardian, which has been looking into complaints from migrants in Bihac and Velika Kladusa about Croatian police brutality.

The video provoked plenty of online commentary on YouTube, with the three main sentiments being skepticism about the video, a lack of sympathy with the plight of the migrants, and strong support for the alleged actions of the Croatian police. 

You can read the full article in The Guardian here.

The Croatian Ministry of the Interior has responded to the article. Read more here.

ZAGREB, October 7, 2018 - A police officer from Zagreb has been arrested in Korenička Kapela while transporting in his van migrants who have illegally entered Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lika-Senj Police reported on Sunday.

Croatian police claims jurisdiction of the Serbian Prosecutor’s office. However, the office of the Croatian Ombudswoman initiates its own investigation.

The first group will arrive in two months, and it will have to undergo a security check.

Celestine “Boban” Olisa fled Nigeria and Boko Haram to find a happy life and a promising future in Croatia, reports UNHCR on June 15, 2017.

Following NGO reports on violence against refugees by the Croatian police, police officials said they will investigate the claims.

According to civil society organizations in Croatia, Croatian police brutally beats and unlawfully pushes refugees back to Serbia, in a new report on May 29, 2017.