Macedonia police abuse refugees, rights group says

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says police in Macedonia have maltreated refugees that have crossed the country to reach the European Union.

The rights organization said in a report on Monday that the asylum seekers were subject to "physical and verbal abuse at the hands of Macedonian officials at the border with Greece and ill-treatment by police guards in the Gazi Baba detention center between June 2014 and July 2015."

The report was based on testimonies of 64 refugees, including seven children.

"It's plain to see that Macedonia has a problem with police violence against asylum seekers and migrants," said HRW's Emina Cerimovic.

She also called on the Macedonian authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the allegations of mistreatment and hold anyone responsible to account to change the situation.

Macedonia, meanwhile, has responded to the report by calling it "suspicious" since HRW has refrained from disclosing the names of asylum seekers it interviewed.

"Unless the goal is to tendentiously blacken Macedonia's name, but really to help these people, we are ready to investigate" the claims, Macedonian police spokesman, Ivo Kotevski, said.

Macedonia is a major transit nation in the Balkans route into the EU and thousands of refugees enter the country every day.

Those interviewed told the rights group that police had beaten them with batons, and punched, kicked, and verbally abused them when they were being apprehended.

Hungarian army’s new power

The HRW’s report comes as Hungary’s anti-migrant parliament has granted new powers to the country’s military in their treatment of refugees escaping war and execution in Middle East and Africa.

Under the new legislation, which was approved with a two-thirds majority on Monday, the army is capable of participating in border controls, restricting personal liberties and using weapons.

Earlier this month, Hungary said it wound punish illegal border-crossing by up to five years in jail, and now its soldiers can also check ID papers and detain suspected illegal refugees.

The police are also allowed to enter private homes to search for refugees who entered the country illegally.

"They (refugees) are overrunning us. They're not just banging on the door, they're breaking the door down on top of us," said right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban.  

Hungary is notorious for adopting harsh policies against refugees, a stance that has greatly infuriated the international community and rights groups.

The EU member state is a transit zone for thousands of asylum seekers who try to reach Western Europe.

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