Victims of a Violent Pushback Seek Justice Before the European Court of Human Rights After Six Years Without an Effective Investigation in Croatia
We all want to live in a society where we all have access to justice, regardless of our skin colour or national origin. Yet, for many refugees and other migrants, this remains far from reality.
Today, on the sixth anniversary of their violent pushback from Croatia, three refugees have lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). They are seeking justice for the severe violence and sexual assault they suffered in 2020, their unlawful expulsion to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which denied them the opportunity to challenge their removal before the Croatian courts, and the ineffective investigation that followed.
“This is a big moment. It’s been six years now. And we still haven’t got justice.” (Malik*, one of the men affected, today)
Six years after the violent pushback and more than three years after the survivors turned to Croatia’s Constitutional Court, the authorities have still failed to ensure an effective investigation into credible allegations of torture, sexual violence and other serious crimes. Those responsible have yet to be identified and prosecuted, while the victims continue to wait for justice.
According to testimonies collected in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the support of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), the group entered Croatia seeking international protection. While in Croatian territory, they were apprehended by the police and detained for approximately two days.
On 14 October 2020, the four men were brought before the County Court in Karlovac to testify against a person who was traveling with them, who had been charged as their “smuggler.” The victims denied the allegation. The following day, they were admitted to a hospital in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Their names, as well as the date and place of their apprehension, are listed in the court ruling, which confirms that they were under the direct control of the Croatian authorities. The criminal complaint states that, on the same day, police officers drove them to an unknown location and handed them over to armed men dressed in black uniforms, whose faces were covered by masks. According to the victims’ statements given to the human right organisations, the men in black tortured them, humiliated them and sexually assaulted them, and then forced them to go back to BiH, beaten and almost entirely naked.
“Before we came to Europe, we knew that terrible things could happen on the journey. But we had no idea how bad it would get.”(Azad*, one of the men affected, today)
The survivors continue to live with the consequences of the violence they suffered in Croatia.
“When I think about what happened back then, I feel terrible. It’s so difficult. Sometimes I can’t concentrate at school. The images are still in my head. I will never forget it. It is a mental injury. Physically, you can recover, but the mental scars stay with you forever. They are etched into us. Sometimes I think about it, and then I feel very alone.” (Azad*)
Six years without an effective investigation
In December 2020, the Centre for Peace Studies filed a criminal complaint concerning offences that must be investigated ex officio, including abuse of power, criminal organization, torture and other ill-treatment, rape, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and robbery.
Despite the legal requirement to decide on criminal complaints within six months, the case has remained in a prolonged pre-investigation phase for years, without an effective investigation bringing those responsible to justice.
Due to the lack of an effective investigation, a complaint was filed with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia on 18 April 2023. However, after more than three years of silence from the Constitutional Court, the victims have now turned to the European Court of Human Rights in their pursuit of justice.
Meanwhile, the group of refugees has reached Germany. They went through the asylum procedure and were granted protection against deportation. They are supported by the Centre for Peace Studies, PRO ASYL, the Dutch Council for Refugees and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
The submission is filed in the broader context of the ECtHR’s recent judgments condemning Croatia’s treatment towards refugees and other migrants and its failure to conduct effective investigations into crimes committed against them (M.H. and Others v. Croatia, Daraibou v. Croatia, and Y.K. v. Croatia).
The three men, who now live in Germany and have found protection there, have high hopes for their application. Although what they experienced cannot be undone, they say it is important to them that justice is served—that the authorities finally acknowledge that what happened to them should never have happened. That it was a crime.
“I’m not doing this for myself,” says Malik*, “but for the thousands of refugees who have experienced something like this. Most of them don’t want to talk about it. And many people have no way of bringing a case at all. Thank God we have people supporting us. Now we have this opportunity.”
They hope that a European court ruling could send a powerful signal to Croatia.
“I hope the police in Croatia understand that we are human beings, too. And that they cannot treat refugees like this. If you haven’t experienced it yourself, you cannot imagine it. We know how terrible it is when something like this happens to you. That is why we can tell the European Court about it. And we hope that this will bring about change in Croatia.”
His friend Azad* adds: “Every day, many refugees are making their way to Europe to find protection. The violence we experienced must not keep happening again and again. That is why we are filing this application.”
*The names have been changed to protect the people affected.
