The European Union is "complicit" in Croatian police's "violent pushbacks" of thousands of asylum seekers because it is funding border security in the Balkan country, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
Last year some 25,000 migrants from Asia, the Middle East and North Africa carved a new route through the Balkans in a bid to slip through EU member state Croatia and move on to other Western European countries.
While most managed to continue onwards, several thousand were thwarted by Croatian border police and are now marooned in migrant centres in neighbouring Bosnia.
On Wednesday Amnesty International accused Croatian border authorities of "deliberate pushbacks and collective expulsions - often accompanied by violence and intimidation".
A group of migrants attempt to cross into Croatia. Source: Getty
The EU is complicit because it has "continued to allocate significant funds to assist Croatia in its border security infrastructure", Amnesty said.
"European governments are not just turning a blind eye to vicious assaults by the Croatian police, but also funding their activities," the watchdog added.
It warned of a "growing humanitarian crisis on the edge of the European Union".
Nearly one third of migrants interviewed by Amnesty in Bosnia described violence at the hands of Croatian police who blocked their path.
They recounted beatings, as well as having their documents destroyed and other possessions stolen, Amnesty added.
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Croatian police of abusive tactics.
But Zagreb has denied the allegations.
Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic reacting to Amnesty's report, said Wednesday Croatia has to prevent illegal migration as it is at the outer border of the EU.
Interior Minister of Croatia Davor Bozinovic. Source: Getty
He alleged in a statement that migrants often "falsely accuse" police officers of violence after they are prevented from entering Croatia, hoping the accusation will help them in their bid to enter.
Last year Croatia recorded 8,207 illegal entry attempts - 70 percent more compared with the previous year.
Since 2016 state institutions and civil society groups have filed 202 allegations of police violence against migrants, the minister said. He said none of the cases was confirmed.
