Die Welt: Croatian police treat migrants without mercy

BERLIN, (Patria) - German newspaper Die Welt has published a major report investigating the circumstances in which Croatian police fired at a van carrying migrants, resulting, among other things, in a bullet to the head of a child. Die Welt raises serious doubts about the official version of the Croatian police regarding this incident, reports Index.hr.

Die Welt writes that the smuggler's van contained 29 people from Afghanistan and Iraq, 15 of whom were children. The final destination for these migrants was Germany. However, the situation became complicated in Croatia when residents of Donji Lapac noticed an unfamiliar van with Austrian license plates and reported it to the police. 

- In the Croatian backwoods, on the very edge of the European Union, two worlds collided. On one side was a van full of migrants, which had practically already entered the EU but was nowhere near its goal, because the goal was Germany. On the other side were Croatian police officers, who set off in pursuit of the van, determined to stop it without mercy - writes Die Welt.

The newspaper states that the Croatian police wanted to defend the EU's external border “at any cost,” describing the entire incident as an event that shows “all the ruthlessness of the refugee crisis.”

It is noted that the smuggler tried to flee from the police, who then gave chase. At one point, according to the official version of events, the van drove at a policewoman, and her colleague fired at the van. After the van finally stopped and the smuggler fled, the police opened the rear doors of the vehicle and were faced with a “scene of horror” - wounded children bleeding. The article states that the migrants who were in the van claim the Croatian police beat them, while the police claim they did everything to help them.

- That night was very chaotic - writes the German newspaper.

Die Welt describes the Hotel Porin in Zagreb, where refugees and migrants are housed, as “dilapidated” and “a place where hygiene is an unknown word,” and after a short stay there, the family of the wounded girl left for Italy. 

Die Welt writes that “the Croatian police protect the border by all means,” and that Croatian institutions had no serious interest in investigating what happened that night. The German newspaper's journalist tried to discuss the incident with local police and residents, but no one would say anything. Finally, under condition of anonymity, he spoke with a police officer who claims the police did everything right, but also that they are under pressure because the government's political goal is Croatia's entry into Schengen.

- One gets the impression that Croatia wants to enter the Schengen area at all costs and that “everything is subordinated to that goal” - states the text of Die Welt.