Source: APC
Photo: APC

Horgoš, February 12, 2025 – Although at reduced pace, Hungary continues to push back refugees into Serbian territory daily, effectively forcing them in Serbia without adhering to legal procedures. While throughout 2024, it appeared that refugees rarely reported violence by Hungarian police, since the beginning of this year, dozens of individuals, including women, have reported experiencing physical abuse before being taken in by joint patrols of Serbian and Frontex police at border crossings between Serbia and Hungary.

During January 2025, 33 individuals reported to APC teams that they had been pushed back from Hungary into Serbia, with as many as 20 of them describing violent pushbacks. These reports include beatings with batons on the stomach, back, and arms, as well as cases of mobile phones and chargers being occasionally confiscated or destroyed. Most of these reports have come from refugees originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Morocco, Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey.

One-third of those who were pushed back reported experiencing multiple pushbacks, meaning they underwent the same violent process at least twice before being forcibly pushed in Serbia. In January, women, families, and single mothers with children report of being pushed backed also.

M.A. from Turkey recounted to APC staff that she was punched in the stomach before being pushed back into She explained that when she was punched, Hungarian police were beating the men in her group, mistakenly assuming she was also a man due to the lack of prior identification. As a result, she also experienced violence. That day, a total of 26 refugees—including 13 men, 3 women, and 3 children—were forcibly returned to Serbia under such conditions.

Z.M., a single mother from Somalia, who is currently in a reception camp in Bujanovac town with her three minor children, described how all four of them were pushed back twice within just a few days. She also witnessed Hungarian police violently assaulting other refugees within their group.

Regarding Serbian police procedures following the handover of refugees at the Hungarian border, reports indicate that authorities continue to detain between 40 to 50 individuals at the Horgoš police station for over 12 hours. According to the refugees’ testimonies, men, women, and children refugees remain confined together in a single room, where the only shared toilet is located within the same space.

On average, Hungarian police—in coordination with Serbian police and Frontex—push back and prevent at least 50 refugees from crossing into Hungary from Serbia each day.