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world news Dialuna 19 aPRil 2021

Refugees win rare victory in landmark Serbia pushback ruling

(AP) — Hamid Ahmadi asylum center.
still can feel the cold of
the February night when Ahmadi, who spoke to the
Serbian police left him AP from Germany through
and two dozen other refu- an interpreter, said he clearly
gees in a forest. remembers when the judge
asked them if they wanted
Crammed into a police to stay in Serbia. He said he
van, the refugees from Af- was happy they would finally
ghanistan thought they were have a place in the camp after
headed to an asylum-seekers' traveling through Turkey and
camp in eastern Serbia. In- Bulgaria.
stead, they were ordered out
near the country's border Hours later, inside the border
with Bulgaria in the middle police van that was supposed
of that night four years ago. to take them to the camp, Ah-
In below-freezing tempera- madi realized something was
tures and desperately in need wrong. When police aban-
of help, they had no choice doned them in the forest, “I
but to head to Bulgaria — the felt broken," he recalled. “I
country they had left just a thought about my family at
day earlier. home."
“I will not forget it as long as In the pitch dark and freez-
I live,” said Ahmadi, who was ing temperatures, the refu-
17 at the time and now lives gees headed on foot toward
in Germany. “Even after a pe- Bulgaria — and straight into
riod of good life and stability, the hands of border police in
one cannot forget the tough that country. They managed
times.” to phone an interpreter in
Serbia, who alerted refugee
The Serbian border police rights activists in both Serbia
had engaged in a pushback, and in Bulgaria.
or collective expulsion, one
of many such actions along The refugees stayed in camps
the travel routes used by mi- in Bulgaria, some for days
grants and refugees trying to and others longer, before
reach Western Europe. But making it back to Serbia again
unlike most such illegal de- and later moving on toward
portations, the officers' ac- Western Europe. The rights
tions in February 2017 re- lawyers later collected docu-
sulted in the Afghan refugees allowing them to apply for pushbacks along EU member atic violations of the ban on mentation left behind by the
winning an unprecedented asylum. Croatia's border with Bosnia collective expulsions,” Kova- Serbian court and the Bul-
legal victory in Serbia's high- after a U.N. team encoun- cevic said. “But at least now garian authorities, establish-
est court. Although refugees and eco- tered 50 men with wounds in Serbia, this was officially ing a clear trace of events that
nomic migrants passing on their bodies who reported confirmed, not by a non- helped build the case in the
The Balkan country's Con- through the Balkans regu- authorities pushed them back government organization, lo- court.
stitutional Court ruled in larly give accounts of the and took their possessions cal or foreign, but the highest
December that the border practice, authorities routinely away when they tried to en- authority for protection of Four years later, Kovacevic
control officers unlawfully deny that their agencies carry ter Croatia. human rights.” is trying to establish contact
deported the refugees and vi- out pushbacks, which are dif- with all the people from Af-
olated their rights. The court ficult to prove and mostly go According to the U.N. refu- To hide any evidence of ghanistan he represented;
also ordered Serbian authori- unpunished. gee agency's office in Serbia wrongdoing, border con- they are scattered in countries
ties to pay the 17 members of and its partners, 25,180 peo- trol officers routinely strip that also include France and
the group who brought the Turned back and forth at ple were pushed back into refugees of mobile phones Bosnia. Coronavirus lock-
lawsuit 1,000 euros ($1,180) various borders, people flee- Serbia from Croatia, Bosnia, or documents. In the case downs have made it more
each in compensation. ing war and poverty spend Hungary and Romania last of Ahmadi and the others, a difficult to establish contact
months, if not years, on the year. clear trace of evidence was and arrange money transfers
“The importance of this ver- road, exposed to harsh condi- left behind thanks to what for the damages they won, he
dict is immense for Serbia,” tions and danger in the hands Kovacevic, the lawyer in Ser- Kovacevic said was the “bla- said.
said Belgrade lawyer Nikola of people-smugglers and hu- bia, said collective expulsions tant arrogance” of the Ser- “It’s taking a little longer, but
Kovacevic, who represented man traffickers. Sometimes, became increasingly com- bian police who “thought we will get there,” smiled
the refugees in the case. It refugees and migrants are mon after the EU and Turkey they could do whatever they Kovacevic.
sends a “clear message to sent back over two or three made a 2016 agreement in- wanted."
state authorities to harmo- borders it had taken them tended to curb migration to Ahmadi, who was granted
nize their border practices months to cross. Europe. More than a million It started on Feb. 2, 2017, asylum in Germany five
with domestic and interna- Human rights groups have people from the Middle East, when 25 migrants, including months ago, said he plans to
tional law." called repeatedly for govern- Africa and Asia had streamed nine children, were caught at use the damages to help him
ments to uphold their re- to the continent the year be- the border with Bulgaria and and his wife start a new life
The ruling is a rare official ac- sponsibilities involving refu- fore. The agreement called brought to a nearby police in Europe. He is now taking
knowledgment that countries gee rights and accused the for Turkey to control the station in Serbia. They were German language lessons be-
in Europe conduct pushbacks European Union of turning a flow of people departing its kept for hours in a basement fore looking for a job.
in violation of European blind eye to the illegal activity territory in exchange for aid room, then taken before a
Union and international laws taking place at its doorstep. for the large number of Syr- judge to face charges of ille- “This compensation means a
which ban forcibly return- ian refugees in Turkey, as well gally crossing the border. The lot to me,” he said. “I will be
ing people to other countries The United Nations mission as other incentives. judge, however, ruled that able to buy a bed and a little
without looking into their in Bosnia called this month “All the borders have intro- the group should be treated something for our flat once
individual circumstances or for urgent action to halt duced the practice of system- as refugees and taken to an we rent it.”