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'The pictures are frightening, and the EU is silently watching the harrowing scenes at the Croatian border' 'These are not isolated cases. Their very number and consistency of accusations indicate the systematic policy of the Croatian authorities', it is pointed out Author: HinaPosted: June 24, 2020 4:55 pm 61 OTHERS WITHOUT OXYGEN Slovenian police officers in Macelj in shock: 22 people found in two cisterns, almost suffocated SHE DEFENDED HER SILENCE Starlet Tijana Ajfon came out of custody, her lawyer revealed what she decided to do first Those working with refugees and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the Croatian border, are accustomed to shocking scenes. People are often forced back across the border, beaten, stripped, their documents burned or dogs are harassed. But men returning with drawn orange crosses on their heads or brutally beaten and smeared with food are new harrowing proof of how far this has gone, writes EUobserver. The incidents, first documented by local NGOs and Amnesty International and recently reported in The Guardian and EUobserver, have been confirmed by various international humanitarian organizations helping refugees and migrants in camps in Una-Sana Canton near the Croatian border, the independent said. portal covering the EU. - The pictures are frightening, and even more so the lack of reaction from the EU - says EUobserver, emphasizing that impunity has become the rule at the border and that reports of violence by the Croatian police are still not checked. The humiliation of people seeking security in Europe by drawing crosses on their heads is the latest example in a long series of incidents and a symptom of a wider trend of violent deterrence and other serious human rights violations occurring at the EU's external borders, which has been observed in Bulgaria, Hungary and Greece. . The failure of the EU institutions to seek clarification from individual Member States for their illegal behavior has allowed such practices to spread and has encouraged further cruel deterrence tactics in some countries. Despite isolation measures across Europe due to the covida-19 pandemic, the deterrence of refugees and migrants from Croatia to BiH continued in early 2020. In April alone, NGOs recorded more than 1,600 incidents of deterrent migrants, according to EUobserver. - Men, women, teenagers and entire families are attacked, physically abused, arbitrarily detained and their property destroyed. Refugees and migrants continuously testify that the police took off their clothes and shoes and forced them to walk for miles in bad weather back to the border with BiH - the portal states. - These are not isolated cases. Their very number and consistency of accusations indicate a systematic and deliberate policy of the Croatian authorities - it is pointed out. Croatian authorities proverbially deny the incidents At the same time, cases of hate speech and intolerance against refugees and migrants have been reported across the region, including attempts to portray them as major carriers of coronavirus and a threat to public health. The Schengen Code, which defines EU border control rules, explicitly states that border control should be carried out with full respect for human dignity. But there is a deafening silence from the European Commission regarding worrying events at Croatia's borders, warns EUobserver. - There is no public condemnation, no call on the Croatian government to investigate the evidence properly, nor a serious attempt to engage in independent monitoring - he points out, adding that repeated calls by the European Parliament to investigate and misconduct met with a lukewarm response and hesitant in checking the accusations and the proverbial denial of the Croatian authorities to do anything illegal. - Where does the EU draw the line if such widespread ill-treatment can continue with impunity - EUobserver asks, adding that credible reports of hundreds of incidents documenting illegal actions and violence at the EU's external borders should lead to effective independent monitoring, transparent investigations and accountability for blatant violations of EU law. - If the European Commission is seriously committed to its core values, it is time to turn words into actions and strongly condemn illegal returns and violence at Europe's external borders and demand that the perpetrators of these illegal acts be held accountable - EUobserver concludes