Cover Page

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BVMN is a network of watchdog organisations active in the Balkans Greece and Turkey including No NameKitchen Rigardu Are You Syrious Mobile Info Team Disinfaux Collective Josoor [re]ports Sarajevo InfoKolpaCentre for Peace Studies Mare Liberum Collective Aid and Fresh Response

S E P T E M B E RR E P O R T2 0 2 1

The Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) published 35 testimonies of pushbacks inSeptember sharing the experience of 815 people-on-the-move at borders across theBalkans This report looks at a number of trends in these violent expulsions such as beat-ings sexual violence outsourcing of pushbacks and maritime violations

Scrutiny of Croatiaʼs patent involvement in violent pushbacks was again a focus of Septem-ber with reports detailing a range of severe abuses during pushbacks to Bosnia-Herzegovinaand Serbia In particular the report analyses the spate of sexual assaults and gropings carriedout by police during searches of transit groups The report considers these cruel and tortur-ous procedures in line with continued evidence of Slovenian facilitation looking at theprocess of systematised chain-pushbacks through its southern border to Croatia

Further analysis is provided about the outsourcing of boat transportation used to completepushbacks across the EvrosMericcedil River The publication considers further testimonies ofthird country nationals allegedly employed in some capacity by Greek authorities to carry outthe transfer of pushback groups with dinghies Meanwhile September saw further pushbacksvia boat this time by Italian authorities using commercial ferries returning to the Port of Pa-tras

In Greece the opening of the closed ʻhotspotʼ on Samos drew the most attention advancingan already markedly carceral shift in the treatment of arrivals to the country In line with thisthe Centaur surveillance system monitoring sites across the islands and mainland is alsoanalysed as a system of control impacting people-on-the-move The report also looks atMigration Minister Mitarakisʼs claimed ʻsuccessʼ on the Greek governmentʼs response to thefire in Moria in September 2020 particularly in light of a recent fire that occurred in Vathycamp The showcasing of remodelled camps is also discussed in light of the preparations ofthe new sections of Lipa in Bosnia-Herzegovina which again raises questions of forced con-tainment over adequate accommodation

In Serbia September brought on a number of concerning trends including a further death inthe border area close to Šid and harassment by a local fascist group The report also looks atthe deployment of Hungarian officers inside Serbian territory and quarantine conditions forarrivals to the Italian city of Trieste A full glossary of pushbacks testimonies is providedalongside the analysis as well as various field updates from members of the network In sumthe month of September saw concentrated levels of violence at borders across the Balkansand further repression of conditions in camps closed centres squats and quarantine facili-ties

1Back to Top

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BVMN is a network of watchdog organisations active in the Balkans Greece and Turkey including No NameKitchen Rigardu Are You Syrious Mobile Info Team Disinfaux Collective Josoor [re]ports Sarajevo InfoKolpaCentre for Peace Studies Mare Liberum Collective Aid and Fresh Response

S E P T E M B E RR E P O R T2 0 2 1

The Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) published 35 testimonies of pushbacks inSeptember sharing the experience of 815 people-on-the-move at borders across theBalkans This report looks at a number of trends in these violent expulsions such as beat-ings sexual violence outsourcing of pushbacks and maritime violations

Scrutiny of Croatiaʼs patent involvement in violent pushbacks was again a focus of Septem-ber with reports detailing a range of severe abuses during pushbacks to Bosnia-Herzegovinaand Serbia In particular the report analyses the spate of sexual assaults and gropings carriedout by police during searches of transit groups The report considers these cruel and tortur-ous procedures in line with continued evidence of Slovenian facilitation looking at theprocess of systematised chain-pushbacks through its southern border to Croatia

Further analysis is provided about the outsourcing of boat transportation used to completepushbacks across the EvrosMericcedil River The publication considers further testimonies ofthird country nationals allegedly employed in some capacity by Greek authorities to carry outthe transfer of pushback groups with dinghies Meanwhile September saw further pushbacksvia boat this time by Italian authorities using commercial ferries returning to the Port of Pa-tras

In Greece the opening of the closed ʻhotspotʼ on Samos drew the most attention advancingan already markedly carceral shift in the treatment of arrivals to the country In line with thisthe Centaur surveillance system monitoring sites across the islands and mainland is alsoanalysed as a system of control impacting people-on-the-move The report also looks atMigration Minister Mitarakisʼs claimed ʻsuccessʼ on the Greek governmentʼs response to thefire in Moria in September 2020 particularly in light of a recent fire that occurred in Vathycamp The showcasing of remodelled camps is also discussed in light of the preparations ofthe new sections of Lipa in Bosnia-Herzegovina which again raises questions of forced con-tainment over adequate accommodation

In Serbia September brought on a number of concerning trends including a further death inthe border area close to Šid and harassment by a local fascist group The report also looks atthe deployment of Hungarian officers inside Serbian territory and quarantine conditions forarrivals to the Italian city of Trieste A full glossary of pushbacks testimonies is providedalongside the analysis as well as various field updates from members of the network In sumthe month of September saw concentrated levels of violence at borders across the Balkansand further repression of conditions in camps closed centres squats and quarantine facili-ties

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1 Executive Summary

3 General3 Reporting network3 Methodology3 Terminology3 Abbreviations

4 Trends in Border Violence4 Forced undressing searches and sexual violence5 Dinghy drivers in Evros6 Chain pushbacks from Slovenia8 Further pushbacks to Patras

9 Update on the Situation9 Greece

New ʻhotspotʼ opened on island of SamosIncreased and centralised surveillance of campsMitarakis claims ʻsuccessʼ on governmentʼs response to 2020 Moria fireEnding of cash assistance program

11 Bosnia-HerzegovinaNew section of Lipa announced as ready

12 SerbiaEncounters with far-right groups in ŚidDead body found near the borderHungarian police officers in Serbian territory

14 ItalyQuarantine for arrivals in Trieste

15 Glossary of Reports September 2021

17 Network Structure and Contact

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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REPORTING NETWORKBVMN is a collaborative project betweenmultiple grassroots organisations and NGOsworking along the Western Balkan Route andGreece documenting violations at bordersdirected towards people-on-the-move Themembers have a common website databaseused as a platform to collate testimonies ofillegal pushbacks which are gatheredthrough interviews

ABBREVIATIONSBiH - Bosnia and HerzegovinaHR - CroatiaSRB - SerbiaSLO - SloveniaROM - RomaniaHUN - HungaryAUT - AustriaMNK - North MacedoniaGRK - GreeceBGR - BulgariaTUR - TurkeyEU - European Union

TERMINOLOGYThe term pushback is a key component ofthe situation that unfolded along the EUborders (Hungary and Croatia) with Serbia in2016 after the closure of the Balkan routePush-back describes the informal expulsion(without due process) of an individual orgroup to another country This lies in con-trast to the term ldquodeportationrdquo which isconducted in a legal framework Push-backshave become an important if unofficial partof the migration regime of EU countries andelsewhere

METHODOLOGYThe methodological process for these inter-views leverages the close social contact thatwe have as independent volunteers withrefugees and migrants to monitor push-backs at multiple borders When individualsreturn with significant injuries or stories ofabuse one of our violence reporting volun-teers will sit down with them to collect theirtestimony Although the testimony collec-tion itself is typically with a group no largerthan five persons the pushback groupswhich they represent can be as large as 50persons We have a standardised frameworkfor our interview structure which blends thecollection of hard data (dates geo-loca-tions officer descriptions photos of in-juriesmedical reports etc) with open nar-ratives of the abuse

GENERAL

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REPORTING NETWORKBVMN is a collaborative project betweenmultiple grassroots organisations and NGOsworking along the Western Balkan Route andGreece documenting violations at bordersdirected towards people-on-the-move Themembers have a common website databaseused as a platform to collate testimonies ofillegal pushbacks which are gatheredthrough interviews

ABBREVIATIONSBiH - Bosnia and HerzegovinaHR - CroatiaSRB - SerbiaSLO - SloveniaROM - RomaniaHUN - HungaryAUT - AustriaMNK - North MacedoniaGRK - GreeceBGR - BulgariaTUR - TurkeyEU - European Union

TERMINOLOGYThe term pushback is a key component ofthe situation that unfolded along the EUborders (Hungary and Croatia) with Serbia in2016 after the closure of the Balkan routePush-back describes the informal expulsion(without due process) of an individual orgroup to another country This lies in con-trast to the term ldquodeportationrdquo which isconducted in a legal framework Push-backshave become an important if unofficial partof the migration regime of EU countries andelsewhere

METHODOLOGYThe methodological process for these inter-views leverages the close social contact thatwe have as independent volunteers withrefugees and migrants to monitor push-backs at multiple borders When individualsreturn with significant injuries or stories ofabuse one of our violence reporting volun-teers will sit down with them to collect theirtestimony Although the testimony collec-tion itself is typically with a group no largerthan five persons the pushback groupswhich they represent can be as large as 50persons We have a standardised frameworkfor our interview structure which blends thecollection of hard data (dates geo-loca-tions officer descriptions photos of in-juriesmedical reports etc) with open nar-ratives of the abuse

GENERAL

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In September testimonies exposed a deeplyconcerning pattern of invasive searching andsexual violence during pushbacks to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia Alongside the con-sistent trend of forced undressing (see 58)three recorded cases also included the vio-lent stripping and groping of peoples geni-tals by Croatian police Meanwhile two otherrespondents relayed how Croatian officerssearched their mouths during pushback op-erations

As highlighted in the August report transitgroups are regularly forced to remove theirclothes (often down to underwear) when ap-prehended by Croatian officers This abusivepractice is used as a way of stealing phonesand other valuables but also a form of tor-ture cruel inhuman and degrading treat-ment In 2020 up to 45 of cases recordedby BVMN from Croatia included forced un-dressing often followed by the burning ofclothing or pushing the semi-naked groupsinto rivers

Alongside material damage and risks ofdrowninghypothermia forced undressingsalso act as forms of sexual violence In threecases recorded in September respondentsdescribe how their genitals and underwearwere violently groped or struck by Croatianofficers During a pushback to Serbia (see32) officers beat one group with batons be-fore groping their bodies and genitals de-manding ldquoGive me moneyrdquo Meanwhile inanother case where a respondent was pushedback to BiH he described how Croatian policeremoved their jackets and burnt them on theborder before touching their genitals tocheck for any concealed valuables (see 510)Both incidents show a combination of violenttheft and intimate sexualised infringements

on peoples bodies A further case from Sep-tember reinforces the extreme nature ofthese attacks detailing how an officerwhipped the respondent with a belt acrossthe genitals as they pushed him back close tothe Bosnian town of Velika Kladuša (see 42)

These heinous crimes at Croatian bordersmust be seen within a wider pattern of rapeand sexual violence that has also been docu-mented by network member Centre for PeaceStudies and the Danish Refugee Council Ad-ditional to the involvement of Croatian po-lice one testimony from September alsoshowed Slovenian police undertaking similarabusive groping against a group of Afghanand Iranians including six minors (see 45)The respondent recalls how they were ledinto a room in a police station and searchedone-by-one in a row

ldquoI donʼt know they maybe check formoney or for drugs They pull our under-wear and touch inside Maybe [this takes]one person 10-20 minutes It feels bad tobe touched in this wayrdquoThe invasive nature of pushback violence wasalso seen in several searches of transitgroups where officers forced their hands intopeoples mouths to check for money One re-spondent interviewed in September de-scribed how ldquothey even control inside ourmouthrdquo (see 510) Another example of thispractice saw officers physically assault agroup member for having money concealedin his mouth by hitting him in the face (see55) This intrusion on the bodies of people-on-the-move shows the way pushbackmethods combine physical and extractive el-ements of harm as well as clear processes ofsexual violence

TRENDS IN BORDER VIOLENCEFORCED UNDRESSING SEARCHES AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

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DINGHY DRIVERS IN EVROSTestimonies this month from survivors ofpushbacks over the EvrosMericcedil river fromGreece to Turkey again mentioned thirdcountry nationals (TCNs) working with Greekauthorities in violently expelling people fromthe country (see 71 amp 72) This trend hasbeen observed sporadically in reports since2020 and it is often mentioned that TCNswho assist in perpetrating pushbacks arepromised legal documentation in Greece orother compensation for their actions A testi-mony from September 2020 states that

ldquoThe dinghy was manned by a Pakistaniman Speaking Pashto the respondentspoke to the driver and found that he hadbeen offered documentation by the Greekauthorities in exchange for two monthsmanning the vesselsrdquoAcross different reports it has been asserted

Deflated dinghy lying on the river bank (SourceJosoor)

that the people driving the dinghies comefrom Pakistan Afghanistan Syria Iraq orMorocco It also appears that driving a boatis not the only task that these people are as-signed to Testimonies from Septembermentioned that people working with theGreek police were asked to take over organi-sational tasks and responsibilities such aspreparing the dinghies (see 72) establishinga queue searching and removing valuables(see 71) and asking transit groups to takeoff their shoes The exact nature of this rela-tionship between TCNs and authorities isdifficult to assess and there is so far no proofthat the promised compensations are dulyexchanged Though regarding the repeatedassertion of this practice it appears that theGreek authorities are operating some form ofexploitation over people-on-the-movewhich plays on the lack of access to asylumin the country

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CHAIN PUSHBACKS FROM SLOVENIA

In September organisations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia collected numerousreports of chain pushbacks from SloveniaThese chain pushbacks have been ongoingfor several years and were the focus of arecent webinar hosted by BVMN partnerorganization InfoKolpa Especially in view ofthe Slovenian Presidency of the Council of theEU and recent court rulings which theSlovenian state is yet to adhere to it isimportant to remember that the illegalpractice of pushbacks via Croatia to BiH andSerbia continues to occur with a highfrequency

The specificity of these chain-pushbacks isthat the affected people are seeminglyʻofficiallyʼ handed over to the Croatianauthorities by the Slovenian officers atmarked border crossings both road and railAn incident from last month describes theuse of border crossing points (BCPs) toexchange apprehended groups (see 48)

ldquoOn the morning of the 24th Septemberthe group of five all Afghan malesbetween the age of 18 and 22 were givenall of their belongings and driven to asmall checkpoint on the Croatian borderThe checkpoint was described as a two-sided road with a container on each sideHere they were handed over to twoCroatian officers which the Slovenianofficers spoke withrdquo

These quasi ʻofficialʼ removals differ frompushbacks at other borders which areinstead characterised by their informality andseclusion Taking the Croatian exampleexperienced by most groups removed fromSlovenia officers carry out pushbacks withmasks at remote stretches of the greenborder making no pretense at enacting aformal readmission Whereas the more opencourse of removing people via BCPs fromSlovenia relies on the trappings of amanipulated readmissions process andimplies a paper trail of signed documents to

justify the act In spite of this both theAdministrative and Supreme Courts ofSlovenia have found these practices to breachlaw on asylum and expose people to the riskof torture in Croatia

Differing from pushbacks directly fromCroatia to BiH or Serbia Slovenian chain-pushbacks imply a set of more elaboratesteps and can therefore last multiple daysThis was illustrated strikingly by a testimonycollected in September [see inset maps]where the removal of the transit group tookthree days and involved 45 hours ofdetention (see 43) Similarly another group(see 42) described being held in detentionwith only little food and water provided andno possibility to consult a lawyer

ldquoWe stayed 3 days in jail We didnʼt seeany lawyer they didnʼt provide us atranslator They just gave us one bottle ofwater per day and some breadrdquo

Besides poor treatment in detention severaltestimonies mention violence andmistreatment happening even insideSlovenian police stations such as intensivesearching of peopleʼs genitalia mentioned ina testimony collected by No Name Kitchen(see 45) Although one testimony (see 48)mentions that the minors from the groupwere allowed to stay in Slovenia theassessment of vulnerable persons appearsinconsistent and gatekeeping of asylum rifeIn the same incident the respondent refusedto sign documents presented to him inSlovenian at which point a translator wascalled and signed the documents on hisbehalf Others report being promised accessto initiate their asylum claim only to beviolently chain-pushbacked to BiH severaldays later (see 42)

ldquoI asked for asylum many times Finallyone policeman arrived and made ussigning some papers I really thought itwas related to my request for asylumrdquo

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Map of chain-pushback testimony (SourceNo Name Kitchen)

FURTHER PUSHBACKS TO PATRASIn September BVMN shared threetestimonies of maritime pushbacks from Italyto the Greek Port of Patras The four personsimpacted by these removals all fromAfghanistan were apprehended at variousports along Italyʼs Adriatic coast andreturned by ferry to Greece Prolongeddetention in the hold of the vessels andexcessive force were used during theseincidents

One respondent caught in Bari was told byItalian police officers ldquoYou canʼt stay in Italyrdquobefore being beaten to the ground andlocked in a room for 10 hours during thereturn trip to Greece (see 61) Another casealso showed this lengthy period of detentionin ferry cabins with two respondents being

held on an overnight trip from the Port ofVenice and denied water in spite ofrequesting it (see 62)

A further case where a minor wasapprehended in Ancona led to a violentaltercation with four Italian police officerswho dragged him from the truck where hewas concealed and slapped him in the face(63) The respondent was then transferredback via ferry to Patras taking 23 hours intotal Upon arrival he was subject to furtherthreats by Greek officials in the port whostated

ldquoIf the police catch you again it will not begood for you Next time you will go to jailrdquo

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Map of chain-pushback testimony (SourceNo Name Kitchen)

FURTHER PUSHBACKS TO PATRASIn September BVMN shared threetestimonies of maritime pushbacks from Italyto the Greek Port of Patras The four personsimpacted by these removals all fromAfghanistan were apprehended at variousports along Italyʼs Adriatic coast andreturned by ferry to Greece Prolongeddetention in the hold of the vessels andexcessive force were used during theseincidents

One respondent caught in Bari was told byItalian police officers ldquoYou canʼt stay in Italyrdquobefore being beaten to the ground andlocked in a room for 10 hours during thereturn trip to Greece (see 61) Another casealso showed this lengthy period of detentionin ferry cabins with two respondents being

held on an overnight trip from the Port ofVenice and denied water in spite ofrequesting it (see 62)

A further case where a minor wasapprehended in Ancona led to a violentaltercation with four Italian police officerswho dragged him from the truck where hewas concealed and slapped him in the face(63) The respondent was then transferredback via ferry to Patras taking 23 hours intotal Upon arrival he was subject to furtherthreats by Greek officials in the port whostated

ldquoIf the police catch you again it will not begood for you Next time you will go to jailrdquo

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UPDATE ON THE SITUATIONGREECENEW lsquoHOTSPOTrsquo OPENED ON ISLAND OF SAMOS

As announced in late July 2021 the newʻclosed and controlledʼ hotspot of Samos -entirely funded by the EU - opened its doorsin September Located in a remote doublemilitary fenced and highly surveilled basin atthe centre of the island the inauguration ofthe camp on 18th September was met withwide range criticism from various parts of thepopulation in Samos

The weekend of the inauguration saw theprotests of local refugees and internationalcommunities both in Vathy town and in frontof the facility For two successive nightspeople gathered in the central square ofVathy Among them were refugees bound tomove into the new camp internationals andlocals expressing solidarity with the dis-placed community and general refusal ofthese new developments in EU migration pol-icy

The festive spirit of the inauguration pushedby the Greek authorities was further over-shadowed by the absence of two central localfigures Regional Governor of North AegeanKostas Moutzouris who stated in his officialrefusal to the invitation that nobody ldquoagreedon structures imposed by Europeans with thecapacity of 300 acres like the one in Zervouand for this reason I will not attend the inau-gurationrdquo His statement followed the decla-ration of the Mayor of Eastern Samos Geor-gios Stantzos that the opening was not aldquocelebrationrdquo and that the members of themunicipal council ʻstrongly disagree with thesize of the structureʼ However the mayorsambiguous attitude over the last years in re-gards to the building of the camp in Zervoucame once more to light as he visited thepremises only 10 days after the ceremonyWhile both critiqued the sites location andcomposition many other observers queriedwhy such a closed centre should be built inthe first place amid rising concerns of arbi-trary detention and human rights abuses

During the inauguration day nonetheless alarge contingent of journalists from all overEurope invited by the Ministry of Migrationand Asylum to witness the improved qualityof the facility - now termed ʻClosed and Con-trolled Access Centerʼ seemingly replacingthe official nomenclature in the Memorandumof Understanding signed with the EuropeanCommission

Another noticeable absence that of DG HomeAffair Ylva Johansson was covered by theDeputy Secretary Beate Gminder and leadingfigure in the project of the five Aegean ʻsu-perstructuresʼ Together with Mr MitarakisMs Gminder was tasked with the raising ofthe Greek and EU flags to mark the ʻsuccessʼof this new step in EU securitisation policy

As planned the first transfers of people tothe new structure out of Vathy town tookplace at the start of the following week De-spite an outbreak of a fire on Sunday 19thSeptember in the old camp the transfer ranʻsmoothlyʼ After the completion of themovement on Tuesday evening people werenot allowed to leave the camp until Thursdaywhich fueled tension uncertainty and fearamong the residents of the new prison-likestructure

While the general living conditions inside thenew ʻhotspotʼ seem to have improved pre-existing mental health problems will mostlikely worsen inside the new highly securedstructure As stated by Meacutedecins Sans Fron-tiegraveres

ldquoAs psychologists working with the peo-ple who are at the frontline of Europeʼstightening migration policies we witnesson a daily basis the deterioration of thesepeopleʼs mental and physical well-beingThe opening of the new prison camp ischanging the collective identity of therefugees their self-esteem and imagetheir dignity Europe is breaking themrdquo

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INCREASED AND CENTRALISED SURVEILLANCE OF CAMPSWith the concept of ʻnational securityʼ in-creasingly playing a key role (at least sym-bolically or in discourse) in the Greek migra-tion policy the authorities have startedbuilding concrete walls around Ritsona campin the outskirts of Athens While this was oneof the first where 10 feet high concrete wallswere built 24 camps on the mainland areplanned to follow

An important piece of this ʻsecuritisationʼbased approach lies in the new CENTAURsurveillance system Presented as a part ofthe ldquoNational Migration Strategy 2020-2021Protecting Aegean Islandrdquo it is now first be-ing used in the light of the opening of thenew ldquoClosed and Controlled Access Centerrdquoon Samos Described as an ldquoIntegrated DigitalElectronic and Physical Security managementsystem perimeter and inside the premisesusing cameras and motion analysis algo-rithms (Artificial Intelligence Behavioral Ana-lytics) It seems blatantly obvious that the

aim of this new strategy is to monitor everystep of people placed in those new prison-like structures and it ldquoincludes central man-agement from the seat of the Ministryrdquo whopreside over the system

These tight surveillance methods are not onlytaking place in Samos The overall aim ofCENTAUR is to be able to connect to everysingle camera in the structures of the Aegeanislands and other camps throughout Greecein the future As stated by Migration amp Tech-nology Monitoring researcher Petra Molnar

ldquoIt really shows that the priority of thisproject and perhaps for the Μinistry ofΜigration is to normalize surveillance inthese spaces Were talking about cam-eras automated voice broadcastingdrones and also this kind of amorphousalgorithmic detection analysis which noone can really know what exactly wouldentailrdquo

On the first anniversary of the destruction ofMoria camp by the large fire in September2021 Greek Migration Minister Notis Mi-tarakis stated that the governmentʼs han-dling of the catastrophe was to be recognisedas a ʻsuccessʼ ldquoMoria like the crisis in Evroshas proven that we can respond even underthe most extreme conditions and thus man-age emergencies in a successful wayrdquoMeanwhile and in response to the arguableclaims of Mr Mitarakis Lesvos-based or-ganisation FenixAid issued a report on theʻinadequate emergency response to the Mo-

ria firesʼ highlighting the systematic neglectin the treatment of asylum seekers in thehours and days immediately after the fireAccording to the quantitative survey from126 asylum seekers undertaken by FenixAid659 of respondents were left without dailyaccess to food while 349 of them had noaccess to food in the four days following thefire and 522 had no water Moreover al-most all of the respondents (937) did nothave access to sanitary facilities and up to492 of them did not receive medical atten-tion in four days

MITARAKIS CLAIMS lsquoSUCCESSrsquo ON THE GOVERNMENTrsquoS RESPONSE TO 2020 MORIA FIRE

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As winter approaches the situation in campsaround the Bihać area in Bosniaʼs Una SanaCanton remains troubled Sedra camp hasbeen closed since 30th June though the In-ternational Organisation for Migration (IOM)has continued to list the closure as pendingpast this date In the meantime families un-accompanied minors and women have beenmoved to Borići camp a site which has nocurrent planned closure Throughout thepast months construction continued on Lipacamp and IOM reported the works would befinished by the last week of August

While the site waits to officially open twotents located inside the provisional area atthe Lipa site caught fire a worrying continu-ity with events from last December Of the400 people staying in this provisional areafortunately nobody was injured but questionmarks remain about the structural violencebeing upheld by this camp which has seenpoor sanitation a lack of adequate food andeven suicides throughout its tenure Some ofthese issues were addressed in a recentBVMN submission to the UN Committee on

Economic Social and Cultural Rights onBosnia-Herzegovina Coupled with the regu-lar forced removals of squat communities tothe site by local police and special forces thecamp has become a symbol of the degradingaccommodation that can be witnessed acrossthe EU external border

In September the Service for ForeignersʼAffairs and the Bosnian Ministry of Securityannounced the completion of the reconstruc-tion work in Lipa which will replace the pro-visional tented area set up by the BiH armyafter the fire on 23rd December 2020 Theopening of the new camp was announced for6th September but has been postponed sev-eral times to a date yet to be defined In anofficial video Laura Lungarotti IOMs head ofmission announced that the camp will havea maximum capacity of 1500 beds and willalso accommodate unaccompanied minorsand families Lungarotti also stated that thereconstruction of the camp has been fi-nanced by the European Union the Austrianand Swiss governments and several other EUmember states

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINANEW SECTION OF LIPA ANNOUNCED AS READY

ENDING OF CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAMThe Greek Migration Ministry decided to endthe UNHCRʼs cash assistance program at theend of September 2021 and will now becomeresponsible for the support of asylumseekers in what many see as a troublingreshuffle This means that no financialassistance will be given to asylum seekerswho are not accommodated in formalhousing structures recognised by Greekauthorities According to media reports inMarch 2021 the number of people livingoutside these structures amounted to25000 in Greece while the total number ofpeople receiving financial assistance was64500

The last payment has been issued in Augustcovering two months August andSeptember From October 2021 onwardsthe Greek authorities will be responsible forproviding assistance to asylum-seekers TheMinistry has announced that asylum seekersof the ldquourban populationrdquo should submit ahousing request in case they lack the

financial resources to cover their basic needsAt the same time mainland camps and theofficial state housing program (ESTIA) lacksufficient capacities to accommodate thesepeople and waiting periods for state housingcan last months This leaves many people atrisk of becoming homeless struggling tosurvive without any support

As of 1st October the new system for cashassistance administered by the GreekMinistry of Migration and Asylum wassupposed to commence However theMinistry released a statement saying thatcash assistance would not be available tointernational protection seekers until the endof the month and that until then food wouldbe provided within accommodationstructures and Reception and IdentificationCenters (RICs) Residents and workers insideseveral RICs reported that this new fooddistribution system has been ldquochaoticrdquo whilefailing to adequately meet needs

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SERBIAENCOUNTERS WITH FAR-RIGHT GROUPS IN ŠID

On 25th September three No NameKitchen (NNK) volunteers in Šid had anencounter with the ldquoOpština ŠidSokolovirdquo (Municipality of Šid Falcons)a far-right nationalist organisationbased in and around the town Thevolunteers were sitting speaking witha group of people-on-the-move in afield near Adaševci refugee campwhen they were approached by an un-marked car The two men whoemerged wore equipment belts andmilitary style uniforms bearing thesign of a falcon on their insignia Onehad a tattoo of the Serbian coat ofarms paired with a portrait ofDragoljub Mihailović a historicalleader of the Serbian nationalist Chet-nik movement and Nazi collaborator

The uniformed men demanded that the peo-ple-on-the-move show them their camp IDswhich had been lost during a recent push-back from Croatia and warned them thatthey had five minutes to return to camp Oneof the NNK volunteers present asked the menwho they were to which they replied ldquomili-taryrdquo The men then photographed the IDs ofthe volunteers but when they could not pro-duce any of their own the volunteers leftLater No Name Kitchen contacted the peo-ple-on-the-move to ask them about the al-tercation They replied that they were part ofa ldquoweird grouprdquo that provided security in thearea behind the camp After the volunteerstranslated the name on their insignia theyrealised these men were members of theSokolovi

Unfortunately this was also not the first en-counter with the Sokolovi From January toFebruary 2020 NNK volunteers had repeatedviolent encounters with them while trying toprevent them from burning down the be-longings of People sleeping in an abandonedfactory on the outskirts of town In the finalencounter the Sokolovi some of whom werewearing Chetnik uniforms threw petrol atone volunteer and hit anotherʼs phone out oftheir hand before destroying it with a batonThe volunteers then phoned the police but infull view of them after their arrival theSokolovi proceeded to slap one volunteersand stab the tyres of the NNK van Finally thetown mayor arrived who previously boastedof his tough approach to controlling the ldquomi-grant threatrdquo and the volunteers were ar-rested In the following trial described byone volunteer as ldquotheatricalrdquo the Sokolovi

were admonished due to the fact that theyhad been engaged by the municipality toclear the squats On the other hand the ac-counts of the NNK volunteers were summar-ily dismissed and they were ordered to leaveSerbia and pay a fine

In addition to these incidents the Facebookgroup called ldquoOmladina Šidardquo (Youth in Šid)posts regular statements and holds streetprotests campaigning against NNK and thepopulation of people-on-the-move in thetown One such statement warned that ldquonei-ther migrants nor volunteers should be ableto walk the streetsrdquo and that locals shouldcall the police if they see them Many of theirposts which include pictures of NNK volun-teers have been followed by periods of in-creased police harassment

Just recently on 6th October Omladina Šidacalled for a street protest against the arrivalof eight buses of people to the official campsin Šid following evictions in northern SerbiaThe message warned that people would haveldquonothing better to do than expel migrantsfrom their homes and gardensrdquo and that theycould ldquoresist or not existrdquo Gangs of youngpeople have also been known to drawswastikas on the NNK house and vehiclessmash windows and even steal the vehicleslicense plates Outside of organised groupsthe attitudes of some locals can be just asextreme The week before this most recentencounter with the Sokolovi NNK volunteersencountered a customer in a mechanics shop

Demonstrators rallying in the town (SourceOmladinaŠidaFacebook)

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who stated that they ldquoworked with his en-emyrdquo and that if the ldquoMuslim hordesrdquo invad-ing his country did anything to his daughterhe would seek revenge against the organisa-tion were the first people he would come tofor revenge He also warned that at least 90of the town agreed with his views

The encounters above paint a bleak pictureof Šid one where the government fascistgroups and locals carry out interlocking ha-rassment of people-on-the-move Howeverthe daily reality is quite different No NameKitchen also shared that they have manyfriends and supporters in the area some arevocal others quieter Volunteers stated thatthe general attitudes they encounter aroundtown are friendly or at least bemusement attheir poor grasp of the Serbian language

Though this also speaks to an experience ofprivilege which racialised communities fromthe camps and squats do not share

Moreover pressure from right-wing groupsand the police has caused several supportersto distance themselves from NNK When thepolice or certain locals enter the same shopas volunteers staff often begin talking inhushed tones Certain distribution sites hadto be abandoned because the risks to thesafety of both people-on-the-move and vol-unteers were too high While they are a mi-nority the presence of these groups theirconnection to the local authorities and thepressure they place on volunteers certainlygives them more power than their numbersmight suggest

DEAD BODY FOUND NEAR THE BORDEROn 16th September 2021 another persondied trying to cross a border The Afghan boywas run over by a train along the tracks onthe line from Šid (Serbia) to Tovarnik (Croa-tia) just a few feet from where MadinaHussiny a six-year-old girl died in winter2017 Little is known about the boy that waskilled last month though it appears that hewas found lying near the train tracks to restbut when he realised that the train was aboutto pass it was already too late Whatever thereason it remains a death that stems directlyfrom the violent border regime that forcessuch minors to cross such risky stretches ofborder in search of safety

The volunteers present at Šidalerted to the incident by otherpeople-on-the-move immedi-ately called an ambulance andwent to the scene The arrival ofthe ambulance however waspreceded by the arrival of thepolice who chased the volun-teers away and threatened themwith legal consequences Thevolunteers also reported that thepolice violated the dead bodykicking him and saying this mi-grant kaput As if that werentenough police took the occa-sion to destroy the informalcamp located close by burningand destroying peoples tentssleeping bags food and cookingfacilities

This cruel death must be seen

within a wider and intentional policy at theEU external border which has led to thespringing up of marked and unmarkedgraves An exhibition held recently in Zagrebwith the support of people-on-the-moveknown as ldquoThe Passagerdquo marked these sadpassings commemorating the lives of peoplekilled at borders across the Balkans Whilevolunteers in Šid and across the region con-tinue to mourn and support the bereavedone wonders how many more people will bekilled by the migration policy of the EU andits member states

People-on-the-move buried in Šid (SourceMurray Kemp)

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HUNGARIAN POLICE OFFICERS IN SERBIAN TERRITORYIn September the presence of Hungarian po-lice officers was noted in the border area be-tween Serbia and North Macedonia in thearea of Miratovac where Serbia began theconstruction of barbed wire near the south-western town of Preševo to prevent the entryof people-on-the-move from North Macedo-nia The mayor of Preševo Shqiprim Arifisaid that the construction of the barbed wirefence was part of an agreement with the Eu-ropean Union and that the fence is a furtherprotection of the borders with non-EU coun-tries from an influx of people-on-the-moveA recent report from Serbian-based NGOKlikAktiv uncovered notable findings aboutthe policies being implemented at this bor-der

In 2013 Serbia and Hungary signed the Pro-tocol on Joint Border Patrols with the aim ofstrengthening cooperation in border controland migration management in order to pre-vent illegal migration through the WesternBalkans to the European Union This proto-col regulates joint police patrols of the twocountries along the common border of Serbiaand Hungary in the area of 20km on both

sides of the border line However the proto-col does not define joint patrols on other Ser-bian borders and therefore it is not clear un-der which agreement Hungarian policeofficers patrol the Serbian-North Macedonianborder

Recently the ORFK the headquarters of theHungarian National Police confirmed thatthree separate units of the Hungarian policehave been deployed at borders in NorthMacedonia Serbia and Slovenia Hungarystates that their officers will be engaged inpreventing illegal migrants from enteringHungary and the EU by sending these divi-sions south along the route with the task ofmonitoring the borders using mobile andportable cameras and SUVs

As mentioned in previous reports by BVMNabout the projection of border controls byBrussels and individual member states no-tably the Czech Republic this latest movemarks further bilateral and (semi-)officialpolice cooperation in order to stem move-ment along the Balkan route

QUARANTINE FOR ARRIVALS IN TRIESTE

In September a total of 426 people arrived inPiazza Libertagrave in Trieste compared with the700 recorded in August Yet this numberdoes not consider those intercepted by thepolice nor those who continued their journeywithout receiving support from volunteersactivists present in TriesteThis comes as aslight decrease compared to the previousmonth but is still significant

Field teams active in the area also reportedthat even the quarantine facilities remain atcapacity Quarantine for a person who entersillegally into Italian territory is 10 days foradults and 14 for minors After which peopleare transferred to ordinary asylum seekerscentres in Trieste or elsewhere in the regionof Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG)

For those in quarantine facilities some havereceived COVID-19 vaccinations There hasbeen a general rise in positive tests frompersons intercepted and taken intoquarantine in line with the increase ofpositive cases in the wider population Thosewho are intercepted by police and taken toquarantine camps are forced to apply forasylum in Italy Until now their stay in Italyhas not been immediately threatened bypushback as seen systematically across thecourse of 2020 Such illegal removals haveseemingly stopped from FVG yet statementsby regional authorities and police regardingthe necessity of resuming these operationsat the border continue despite the fact thatthe practice has been judged illegal by theCourt of Rome

ITALY

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GLOSSARY OF REPORTS AUGUST 2020

GLOSSARY OF REPORTS SEPTEMBER 2021BVMN published 35 pushback cases in Sep-tember impacting 815 people-on-the-move Those affected by these incidents in-cluded men women children with guardiansand unaccompanied children They also rep-resent a wide demographic including peoplefrom Afghanistan Pakistan IranBangladesh India Sudan Syria Iraq Mo-rocco Tunisia Algeria Egypt Libya andLebanon

- 7 pushbacks to Serbia (1 chain-pushbackfrom Slovenia 5 from Croatia 1 from Roma-nia)- 19 pushbacks to Bosnia-Herzegovina (8chain-pushbacks from Slovenia 11 fromCroatia)- 3 pushback from Italy to Greece- 6 pushbacks to Turkey (2 from Bulgaria 4from Greece)

LINK INCIDENT RECORDED GROUP DEMOGRAPHIC

SLOVENIA TO SERBIA11 27th September 29th September 1 Afghanistan

ROMANIA TO SERBIA22 27th August 3rd September 7 Afghanistan

CROATIA TO SERBIA31 5th September 18th September 16 Afghanistan Pakistan32 13th September 20th September 4 Afghanistan33 15th September 18th September 2 Afghanistan34 16th September 17th September 5 Afghanistan35 20th September 25th September 23 Afghanistan

SLOVENIA TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA41 5th September 7th September 15 Afghanistan42 6th September 13th September 4 Afghanistan43 7th September 11th September 10 Afghanistan Pakistan44 10th September 20th September 9 Afghanistan Pakistan45 14th September 20th September 46 Afghanistan Iran46 18th September 28th September 27 Pakistan47 19th September 26th September 8 Afghanistan Pakistan48 24th September 25th September 11 Afghanistan Pakistan

CROATIA TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA51 24th August 28th August 25 Afghanistan52 25th August 26th August 25 Afghanistan Pakistan53 27th August 31st August 11 Afghanistan

54 28th August 3rd September 25 Afghanistan Bangladesh IranPakistan

55 31st August 5th September 6 Afghanistan BangladeshPakistan

56 2nd September 2nd September 15 Afghanistan

57 4th September 6th September 120 Afghanistan India PakistanSudan

58 4th September 7th September 80 Afghanistan Pakistan

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LINK INCIDENT RECORDED GROUP DEMOGRAPHIC59 6th September 10th September 4 Afghanistan510 7th September 8th September 22 Pakistan511 13th September 15th September 60 Pakistan

ITALY TO GREECE61 1st September 3rd September 1 Afghanistan62 11th September 13th September 2 Afghanistan63 24th September 25th September 1 Afghanistan

GREECE TO TURKEY

71 3rd September 6th September 100 Afghanistan Syria IraqMorocco Tunisia

72 12th September 13th September 100 Afghanistan Pakistan SyriaAlgeria

BULGARIA TO TURKEY81 11th September 14th September 2 Tunisia82 18th September 18th September 12 Syria83 19th September 20th September 6 Morocco Libya Lebanon Iraq84 20th September 21st September 10 Syria

FIND ALL REPORTS ON THE DATABASE HERE

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NETWORK STRUCTURE AND CONTACT

B O R D E R

N E T W O R K

BVMN is based on the horizontal participation ofmember organisations in the field of documenta-tion advocacy media and litigation The Networkreceives funds through charitable grants and do-nations from supporters The funds primarilycover transport subsidies for volunteers in thefield and staff costs

To follow more from the Border Violence Moni-toring Network check out our website for the en-tire testimony archive previous monthly reportsand regular news pieces To follow us on socialmedia find us on Twitter handle Border_Vio-lence and on Facebook For further informationregarding this report or more on how to becomeinvolved please email us at mailbordervio-lenceeu For press and media requests pleasecontact pressborderviolenceeu

V I O L E N C EM O N I T O R I N G