Hungary border police ‘shave cross shape onto Moroccan migrant’s head', rights group says

Hungarian border police beat up a Moroccan migrant and shaved a cross into his head after he was captured when passing from Serbia to Hungary, a migrants rights group said this week.

Serbian group Klikactiv on Monday shared the account of the migrant they met close to the Serbia-Hungary border, a common crossing point for migrants and refugees seeking sanctuary in Europe.

The migrant had an injured ankle and a freshly-shaven head, and looked distressed, according to the group. He said he and a number of other migrants crossing the border had been rounded up and physically beaten for several minutes by Hungarian border police.

He alleged that the officers then raided the migrants’ belongings, including his own; he said he was carrying clippers, which they used to shave a cross onto his head.

"They turned on the machine, they grabbed me so I wouldn't move and they made a cross all over my head," Klikactiv quoted the Moroccan migrant as saying.

"Then they started laughing at me while hitting my head. When I finally was released, I just wanted to get rid of all the hair off my head."

In its latest quarterly report, Klikactiv said that there had been increased brutality and physical violence by the Hungarian police. 

The organisation told The New Arab that beatings and theft by border police are happening across Serbia’s northern borders.

"Since the majority of refugees are currently using the Hungarian border as a way to enter the EU, we are recording the most severe brutality on this border," they said.

Klikactiv said that there has been precedent for European countries’ border forces shaving crosses into migrants’ hair, by Croatian police at the Croatia-Bosnia border in 2020.

"State representatives of both Croatia and Hungary have very loud and strong narratives of 'protecting' the EU and their nationals borders while emphasising that Europe as a continent belongs to Christians," they said.

"The act of shaving/painting crosses on refugee’s heads also serves as an act of humiliation and demonstration of police power."

Doctors Without Borders said last month that migrants were being subjected to "shocking violence", allegedly at the hands of the Hungarian authorities.

"Beatings with belts and batons, kicking, punching, various forms of humiliation, use of pepper spray and teargas are all reported to be common deterrence practices, prior to pushbacks and denial of assistance," MSF said.

Responding to a request for comment from The New Arab, Hungarian police strongly denied allegations of assault and robbery by migrants and rights groups, while affirming their commitment to "protecting the border of Hungary and the external border of the European Union".

"The police firmly refuse the allegations that police officers in service would have assaulted migrants at the border or would have stolen valuables from them," a statement from the Hungarian National Police Communications Service said.

The statement added that the police would investigate any complaint of ill-treatment lodged by refugees against serving officers.