ZAGREB, December 21, 2018 - Syrian migrant Wadie Ghazi Sineid, who claimed that Croatian police separated him from his daughter, came to Europe alone, according to Interpol data, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Friday, adding that this case showed that the institute of international protection was frequently abused.

In September, after Croatia returned him to Bosnia and Herzegovina, from which he had illegally entered Croatia, Sineid told Bosnian media that Croatian police had separated him from his daughter.

Božinović said the police immediately did everything they did in case of missing persons, notably children, finding that in all the countries Sineid had passed through on his way to Croatia - Turkey, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina - the Syrian migrant was registered without a child.

Croatian police also contacted police in Syria and Lebanon, Božinović told reporters. Damascus said that Sineid had left Syria in 2011 and that since then they had had no information about him and his daughter, while Beirut said they had no information about his family.

Božinović said that according to current information, Sineid was registered in the Netherlands in October and that it was not known if he had contacted anyone in Croatia.

"This example shows that the institute of international protection is often abused," he said, adding that over 80% of the people eligible to apply for asylum or some other form of international protection in Croatia disappeared during the procedure as they had freedom of movement. This shows that Croatia is not their goal and that they use those mechanisms to go a step further, he added.

Commenting on media criticisms of Croatian police brutality towards migrants on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Božinović said they checked each such report and that so far there had been no instances of violence, only acts of deterrence from the border.

As for accusations that Croatian police prevented migrants from applying for asylum, Božinović said that of the 7,500 people caught illegally entering Croatia, over 1,000 had applied for asylum or international protection.

"Everyone who wants to say that Croatia doesn't respect the law or that it is closed like some other countries, the facts and the numbers refute that," he said, adding that Croatia would be glad to let those people move on to other European Union countries if they wanted to receive them.

More news on Croatia’s migrant policies can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 20, 2018 - The European Commission on Thursday decided to make available an additional 305 million euro in emergency assistance to support migration and border management in Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Croatia, and Croatia will receive 6.8 million euro of the amount.

"The Commission is awarding 6.8 million euro to Croatia to help reinforce border management at the EU's external borders, in full respect of EU rules," the Commission stated in a press release.

"The funding will help strengthen border surveillance and law enforcement capacity by covering the operational costs of 10 border police stations through the provision of the daily allowances, over-time compensation and equipment. A monitoring mechanism will be put in place to ensure that all measures applied at the EU external borders are proportionate and are in full compliance with fundamental rights and EU asylum laws.

"Today's award brings the overall emergency funding for migration and border management allocated to Croatia by the Commission to almost 23.2 million euro. This comes on top of nearly 108 million euro allocated to Croatia under the national programmes of the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund 2014-2020," reads the press release.

The total funding will support efforts to increase reception capacity, protect victims of human trafficking and strengthen border surveillance and management capacity, and Greece is given 289 million euro for the following purposes: rental accommodation and allowances (190 million euro), reception conditions (61 million euro), search and rescue (33 million euro) plus 357,000 euro to provide blankets, winter jackets and winterisation kits.

The Commission is awarding 5.3 million euro in emergency funding to the Italian authorities to help protect victims of human trafficking in the context of migration.

The European Commission is awarding 3.1 million euro to Cyprus to step up its reception capacity and transform the temporary emergency centre "Pournaras" into a fully-fledged first reception centre.

More news on Croatia’s migrant policies can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 18, 2018 - The Peace Studies Centre (CMS) on Tuesday filed with the prosecutorial authorities (DORH) a criminal report accusing unidentified police officers of behaving unlawfully towards migrants at Croatia's border with Bosnia. The police have allegedly conducted unlawful migrant expulsions.

The criminal report, lodged with DORH on International Migrants Day observed on 18 December, was prompted by a video footage released by the international organisation Border Violence Monitoring purportedly corroborating the suspicion that Croatian police systematically expel groups of migrants on the external border of the European Union back to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Ministry of the Interior dismissed the claim, insisting that border police were applying the principle of deterrence.

The CMS and the Welcome initiative insist that DORH should conduct an effective investigation that will result in the penalisation of the perpetrators.

They also insist that Interior Minister Davor Božinović, the national chief of police, Nikola Milina, and the head of the border police, Zoran Ničeno, should resign, claiming that they failed to ensure the conduct of the police in compliance with law.

Activist Sara Kekuš told a news conference Tuesday that numerous testimonies of refugees and warnings made over two years about the unlawful police behaviour, as well as the latest footage were sufficient to corroborate the claims that it was necessary to launch an investigation.

Kekuš said that it was of utmost importance that the police cease behaving unlawfully and violently at the border.

Police chief Milina on Sunday dismissed accusations against Croatian police over their treatment of migrants, saying that no cases of beating have been found. "Police guard the state border in accordance with the law and their professional standards. We have checked all recent reports of illegalities and have found no cases of beating," Milina told public broadcaster HRT in a prime-time news programme on Sunday evening.

More news on Croatia’s policies towards migrants can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 17, 2018 - The national chief of police, Nikola Milina, has dismissed accusations against Croatian police over their treatment of migrants, saying that no cases of beating have been found.

"Police guard the state border in accordance with the law and their professional standards. We have checked all recent reports of illegalities and have found no cases of beating," Milina told public broadcaster HRT in a prime-time news programme on Sunday evening.

He commended the police for their outstanding performance, saying that over 547 smugglers had been processed to date, the largest number on record.

Milina resolutely rejected accusations that Croatian police were entering the territory of neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina. "That's not true. We enter Bosnia and Herzegovina's territory only in accordance with the cross-border police cooperation agreement, as part of joint patrols and regular activities with our colleagues from Bosnia and Herzegovina."

"So far this year, we have received 1,039 asylum claims, which shows that we are not violating human rights," Milina said when asked how police treated migrants on the border and whether they allowed them to apply for asylum. He said that the main task of the police is to protect lives, adding that Croatian police were helping migrants, providing them with medical assistance, food and so on.

Milina said that an estimated 5,000 migrants were currently staying in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "We are exchanging information on an ongoing basis with Bosnia and Herzegovina and all other countries on the migrant route. Estimates differ and change from day to day, but according to some, currently there are about 5,000 migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Speaking of the purpose of the Interior Ministry's appeal addressed to international and local non-governmental organisations providing humanitarian assistance to migrants along the Balkan route, Milina said: "We want to protect lives, we want as few people as possible coming to grief. We've had nine deaths this year alone."

He said that false information is often spread via social networks that the border is open or will be opened and then migrants start towards the border. He noted that criminal networks also put migrants in danger.

In the meantime, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Security Minister Dragan Mektić said on Sunday that police in his country had evidence showing that Croatian police were forcing illegal migrants back to Bosnia and Herzegovina and abusing them in the process.

"It's a disgrace for a European country, a member of the European Union. Police are involved in migrant smuggling and are forcing them into illegal migration. We have warned of this several times," Mektić told the regional N1 television network.

The Croatian Ministry of the Interior dismissed such claims, saying that Croatian border police were applying the principle of deterrence in accordance with Croatian law, and that none of the alleged cases of abuse had been verified by checks.

Mektić made the statement while commenting on footage aired by German ARD television, which said that this proved that by forcing migrants back to Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian police were violating Croatian laws and international conventions.

Mektić added that Bosnian security services had gathered evidence confirming the accusations by the German television channel. "We have evidence proving that they (Croatian police) are doing that, physically abusing and beating migrants. We also have evidence showing that they even abuse families and underaged children," Mektić said.

More news on the migrant situation on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 16, 2018 - Border Violence Monitoring (BVM), an organisation that documents expulsions and violence against migrants, on Sunday released video footage purportedly corroborating the suspicion that Croatian police systematically expel groups of migrants on the external border of the European Union back to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Ministry of the Interior dismissed the claim, insisting that border police were applying the principle of deterrence.

The ministry said in a statement it had checked the locations where the footage was made and the actions of Croatian police, and found that the police actions on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina were in line with the law. It dismissed the claim about expelling hundreds of migrants to Bosnia and Herzegovina and stressed that the police applied the principle of deterrence.

BVM said it had received the footage in an anonymous letter. The organisation considers it authentic because of "the extensiveness and level of detail of the material in concordance with other reports".

"The footage was filmed by hidden cameras in a forest near Lohovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, (Coordinates 44.7316124, 15.9133454) between 29 September and 10 October 2018 and show 54 push-backs," BVM said, adding that at least 350 refugees, including small children, minors and women, can be seen in the video.

It said that reports by local non-governmental organisations cite expulsions accompanied by property destruction, violence and theft by police, and that in villages near the border Doctors Without Borders regularly provide medical assistance to migrants injured by police.

The Croatian Ministry of the Interior says that the principle of deterrence is prescribed by the Schengen Border Code and is applicable to an area between two border crossing points open to international traffic, in this case between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. "This is a legal measure available to border police in European countries and is applicable to persons who try to enter their territory illegally, outside border crossing points," the ministry said.

The ministry stressed in its statement that Croatian police act in accordance with the existing law, respecting all high standards of basic human rights.

Any uncontrolled entry of a large number of persons would turn Croatia into a hot spot, which the Ministry of the Interior will never allow, but will use all measures and mechanisms available under national and EU legislation to protect the state border, the statement said.

It said that non-governmental organisations covering Croatian police actions should communicate any relevant information to the police without delay so that an investigation could be urgently carried out in accordance with the rules of criminal investigation. "All else is open to manipulation and misinterpretation of the circumstances of any incident."

The ministry said it thoroughly checks all information available about accusations of the alleged use of force and the commission of crimes against migrants. "So far not in one case has it been found that police officers overstepped their powers against migrants," it underlined.

The efforts made by Croatian police in preventing illegal migration and the manner in which they monitor and guard the state border, which is the longest external border of the EU, are in line with the conclusions of relevant EU authorities and are acknowledged by EU countries that are final destinations of economic migrants. Thanks to the effective work of Croatian police, these countries are not exposed to a bigger influx of migrants, the statement said.

Croatian police remain committed to protecting the Croatian and EU border and safeguarding the security of Croatian and EU citizens, the ministry said.

More news on Croatia’s migrant policies can be found in the Politics section.

Secretly filmed footage has been released reportedly showing the Croatian police illegally expelling migrants, including children, minors and women, from the country. Border Violence Patrol, which submitted the footage to Index.hr, guarantees the authenticity of the footage and supports it with GPS data, reports Index.hr on December 16, 2018.

According to the information provided to Index.hr, the expulsions were carried out in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), away from the official border crossings and without the presence of the BiH police. Such pushback of migrants, without due process and without the ability to seek asylum, is illegal and violates international laws, including the Geneva Convention.

The Ministry of Interior said they would respond to the footage after it had been published.

Video can be seen on the Index.hr website.

The footage was submitted anonymously to the Border Violence Monitoring (BVM) organisation. Border Violence Monitoring claims that the footage is the first evidence of systematic pushback conducted by the Croatian police far from official border crossings. They note they consider the footage to be authentic.

The extensive video material was shot by hidden cameras in a forest near Lohovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, covering the period between September 29 and October 10, BVP claims. The footage shows 54 illegal group pushbacks of at least 350 migrants, including women and children, claims BVP. Shooting can be heard on several occasions.

In 240 hours of video, 24 pushbacks were recorded during the day, while 30 were recorded in the dark. The most significant expulsion occurred on October 6, when five policemen deported 55 refugees. On October 9, the highest number of people were expelled. According to the BVP, at least 81 persons were expelled that day in eight separate pushbacks.

Officers have been recorded on several occasions with machine guns and police batons in their hands. On October 4th, a police officer threatens to use a baton, while on October 7, two policemen can be seen forcing migrants to walk in line, and one policeman hits a person.

BVP has also released photos of bullet cartridges. They claim to have found them at the location where the expulsions took place. They additionally claim that ammunition came from the HS-9 Tactical gun, the official weapon of the Croatian police.

Border Violence Patrol guarantees the authenticity of the footage and supports it with GPS data. They say that journalists can receive the original GPS data. They also claim that it is easy to get to the location in Bosnia and Herzegovina and compare it with the footage.

"These expulsions are illegal because they were not carried out at the official border crossings and were conducted without the presence of BiH officials. Also, documents from various organisations suggest that asylum applications filed by refugees have been rejected before the expulsion," the BVP reports. Reports by local organisations show that expulsions are often accompanied by destruction of migrant property, violence and theft.

The Interior Ministry and Minister Davor Božinović have persistently denied allegations and numerous reports about illegal activities allegedly conducted by the Croatian police towards migrants, including physical violence and property destruction.

Translated from Index.hr (reported by Denis Mahmutović).

More news on Croatia’s migrant policies can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 14, 2018 - In the first 11 months of 2018 Croatian police arrested 7,500 illegal migrants, of whom 979 have sought international protection in Croatia while others were returned to the countries from where they had entered Croatia illegally, officials of the Karlovac Police Directorate told reporters on Friday, after a session of the county assembly focusing on security and illegal migrations in that county that borders on Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.

Police deputy director Josip Ćelić commended cooperation with the police forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, and dismissed accusations from a part of migrants that Croatian police treat them inhumanely.

"Our police officers help children and adults who are in bad condition, they give them water, food, medical help, and claims about police brutality are absolutely untrue... If police have to defend themselves, they act in line with the law and use legal means of coercion," Ćelić said, recalling "clear cases of migrants inflicting injuries on themselves, deaths caused by rock slides and cases of drowning in rivers".

Karlovac County border police chief Zoran Ničeno said that the number of illegal migrants arrested was 66% higher than in 2017 and that 547 people smugglers were arrested, twice as many as in 2017.

He added that there were eight attacks on police.

More news on the migrant policies in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.

 ZAGREB, December 13, 2018 - Teams of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) are soon to arrive on the Croatia-Bosnia border because of the migrant pressure, European Commissioner Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis said on Thursday and added that the greatest responsibility for the situation on the border lies with Sarajevo and Zagreb.

Negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the deployment of FRONTEX teams have been completed and an agreement will be signed soon. That agreement will enable border police to manage the border between Bosnia and Croatia, however, the most important responsibility is in the hands of those two countries, Andriukaitis said during a debate on the status of migrants in Bosnia currently located near the border with the European Union.

Andriukaitis recalled that currently there are 5,139 migrants and asylum seekers being cared for in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Of that number, 3,126 are located in the canton in the northwest of the country near the border with Croatia and about 1,000 migrants have still not requested assistance, he said in a plenary session of the European Parliament during a debate on the issue, moved by Croatian MEP Ivan Jakovčić (IDS/ALDE).

According to Andriukaitis, since June this year, the European Union has provided Bosnia and Herzegovina with two million euro in humanitarian aid and 7.2 million euro through special measures and instruments for pre-accession support, and all the measures are being implemented with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), UNHCR and UNICEF.

Over the past few weeks, 180 additional police officers have been deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina to improve security at the border, Andriukaitis added.

Relations between border police and migrants seem to be positive overall, as EU officials have reported, Andriukaitis said but recalled that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a transit country and the majority of migrants are attempting to cross the border every day.

He said that there was information that Croatian police were abusing migrants on the border with Bosnia, adding that the EC was actively monitoring developments and had informed Croatian authorities of those accusations.

He stressed that the agreement on readmission should be applied to migrants who illegally cross the EU border.

It should be applied without questioning the right to asylum and the obligations that arise from international law, particularly the principle of banning forced readmission, he added.

We all agree that the border between Bosnia and Croatia is the EU's external border and Croatia is responsible to manage that border, he said.

Measures on the EU's external border have to be proportional, they must fulfil fundamental human rights, Andriukaitis said, adding that he was convinced that Croatian authorities would take these accusations seriously and investigate them quickly and thoroughly.

In the ensuing debate, MEP Jakovčić said that he had proposed the debate because of the migrants' difficult situation but also because of the problems facing the local population. He added that the situation was chaotic because on the one hand Croatia was being called out because not everything was quite right with regard to the treatment of migrants while on the other hand, it was expected to protect the EU border.

He added that this was a huge challenge for the European Commission and thanked it for the help it had provided to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the way it was helping Croatia.

MEP Dubravka Šuica (HDZ/EPP) recalled that Croatia was preparing to enter the Schengen area and that Croatian police were doing their best to facilitate the country's entry to that area, and did their work in line with regulations.

She added that the latest data indicated that the number of migrants at the border was 57% higher than last year, with 6,415 more migrants, and warned of the problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina's relaxed visa regime with third countries. "Bosnia and Herzegovina's relaxing its visa regime with certain third countries, primarily Turkey, has led to an increase in the number of illegal entries from Bosnia," she said.

"In any case, it is a fact that work is being done to protect Bosnia and Herzegovina's border, and Albania's and Montenegro's, too, however, Croatia has more border police than all three countries together," she underlined and added that it was necessary to strengthen the asylum system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other Western Balkan countries.

MEP Tonino Picula, (SDP/S&D), recalled that Croatia has the longest EU land border and that it has not raised razor-wire fences like its neighbours. He underscored that the 6,500 migrants currently in Bosnia and Herzegovina were staying in improvised accommodation close to Croatia's border, which increases the chances of illegal crossing.

He too said that as a member of the Union, Croatia expected to join the Schengen Area as soon as possible and was aware that migration was a global challenge and had therefore supported the UN Global Compact.

More news on Croatia’s migrant policies can be found in our Politics section.

 ZAGREB, December 11 (Hina) - Croatian Minister of the Interior, Davor Božinović, on Tuesday dismissed accusations by Human Rights Watch (HRW) levelled against Croatian law enforcement authorities about police violence against migrants.

"The Croatian police protect the Croatian border, protect the European Union's external border in compliance with the Croatian laws and Schengen Zone rules. They have done that and are doing that in a professional manner. Had it not been so, Croatia would not have received commendations from the relevant members of the EU institutions for the way it is coping with the migrant crisis," Božinović said in Marrakesh on Tuesday.

The New York-based HRW says that Croatian police are turning migrants back to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in some cases violently, denying them the opportunity to apply for asylum. The organisation interviewed 20 people, including 11 heads of families and one unaccompanied boy, who said that Croatian police deported them to Bosnia and Herzegovina without due process after detaining them deep inside Croatian territory.

In response to this criticism, Minister Božinović said that all those objections had been made by people whose attempts to enter Croatia illegally were foiled.

The police check any reported case of violence and maybe somebody would be happier if we managed to find some evidence, but we haven't found anything to corroborate the accusations, the minister said.

Asked by the press if it is possible to safeguard the border without the use of force, he answered that "the police are trained to do so."

He underscored that the Global Compact for the Safe, Orderly and Regular Migrations, endorsed in Marrakesh on Monday, made a distinction between migrants and refugees, and that the majority of those coming to the Croatian borders are not refugees but migrants for economic reasons.

More news on Croatia’s migration policies can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 11, 2018 - Croatian police are pushing migrants to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in some cases violently, denying them the opportunity to apply for asylum, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.

The New York-based organisation interviewed 20 people, including 11 heads of families and one unaccompanied boy, who said that Croatian police deported them to Bosnia and Herzegovina without due process after detaining them deep inside Croatian territory.

Sixteen of them, including women and children, said police beat them with batons, kicked and punched them, stole their money, and either stole or destroyed their mobile phones.

"Croatia has an obligation to protect asylum seekers and migrants," Lydia Gall, Balkans and Eastern EU researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in Budapest. "Instead, the Croatian police viciously beat asylum seekers and pushed them back over the border," she added.

All 20 interviewees gave detailed accounts of being detained by people who either identified themselves as Croatian police or wore uniforms matching those worn by Croatian police. Seventeen gave consistent descriptions of the police vans used to transport them to the border. One mother and daughter were transported in what they described as a police car. Two people said that police had fired shots in the air, and five said that the police were wearing masks.

These findings confirm mounting evidence of abuse at Croatia's external borders, Human Rights Watch said.

In December 2016, Human Rights Watch documented similar abuses by Croatian police at Croatia's border with Serbia. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in August 2018 that it had received reports Croatia had summarily pushed back 2,500 migrants and asylum seekers to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of the year, at times accompanied by violence and theft.

In response to a call by the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner to investigate the allegations, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in September denied any wrongdoing and questioned the sources of the information, HRW said.

Police in Donji Lapac, on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, refused to provide Croatia's ombudswoman, Lora Vidović, access to police records on treatment of migrants and told her that police are acting in accordance with the law, HRW added.

In a December 4 letter, Interior Minister Davor Božinović responded to a detailed description of the Human Rights Watch findings. He said that the evidence of summary returns and violence was insufficient to bring criminal prosecutions, that the allegations could not be confirmed, and that migrants accuse Croatian police in the hope that it will help them enter Croatia. He said that his ministry does not support any type of violence or intolerance by police officers.

Croatia has a bilateral readmission agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina that allows Croatia to return third-country nationals without legal permission to stay in the country. According to the Security Ministry of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the agreement, between January and November 27, Croatia returned 493 people to Bosnia and Herzegovina, 265 of whom were Turkish nationals. None of the people Human Rights Watch interviewed underwent any formal return procedure before being forced back over the border.

The summary return of asylum seekers without consideration of their protection needs is contrary to European Union asylum law, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the 1951 Refugee Convention, HRW noted.

The organisation called on Croatian authorities to conduct thorough and transparent investigations of abuse implicating their officials and hold those responsible to account. Authorities should ensure full cooperation with the Ombudswoman's inquiry, as required by national law and best practice for independent human rights institutions, it added.

The European Commission should call on Croatia, an EU member state, to halt and investigate summary returns of asylum seekers to Bosnia and Herzegovina and allegations of violence against asylum seekers. The Commission should also open legal proceedings against Croatia for violating EU laws, Human Rights Watch said.

As a result of the 2016 border closures on the Western Balkan route, thousands of asylum seekers were stranded, the majority in Serbia, and found new routes toward the EU.

In 2018, migrant and asylum seeker arrivals increased in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from fewer than 1,000 in 2017 to approximately 22,400, according to the European Commission. The Commission estimates that 6,000 migrants and asylum seekers are currently in the country. Bosnia and Herzegovina has granted international protection to only 17 people since 2008. In 2017, 381 people applied for asylum there.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has only one official reception centre for asylum seekers near Sarajevo, with capacity to accommodate just 156 people.

Asylum seekers and migrants in the border towns of Bihać and Velika Kladuša, where Human Rights Watch conducted the interviews, are housed in temporary facilities managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – a dilapidated building, a refurbished warehouse, and former hotels – or they sleep outdoors.

The IOM and UNHCR have been improving the facilities. The EU has allocated over nine million euro to support humanitarian assistance for asylum seekers and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Just because the EU is sending humanitarian aid to refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that does not justify turning a blind eye to violence at the Croatian border," Gall said. "Brussels should press Zagreb to comply with EU law, investigate alleged abuse, and provide fair and efficient access to asylum."

HRW gave detailed accounts by 13 men, six women and a 15-year-old boy about their treatment by Croatian police.

More news on Croatia’s response to the migrant crisis can be found in our Politics section.