EU: The 'Black Book of Pushbacks': testimonies of pushbacks affecting over 12,000 people
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07 January 2021
The 'Black Book of Pushbacks' has been produced by the Border Violence Monitoring Network to document "the horrific violence suffered by over 12,000 people at the hands of authorities on the EU’s external borders". The publication, which documents so many incidents that it comes in two volumes, was launched on International Migrants Day.
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Launch Event: The Black Book of Pushbacks (BVMN, link):
"Today the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) are releasing a landmark publication on illegal border pushbacks. The ‘Black Book of Pushbacks’ brings together a wealth of evidence on these violations, analysing in detail the way that these brutal acts have become systematised at the external border and renewing calls to end impunity for perpetrating EU authorities.
A 1500-page ‘Black Book’ that documents the horrific violence suffered by over 12,000 people at the hands of authorities on the EU’s external borders has been released today – International Migrants Day – by The Left in the European Parliament. Compiled by BVMN and printed over two volumes, the ‘Black Book of Pushbacks’ is a collection of hundreds of testimonies of migrants and asylum seekers who have experienced human rights violations at external borders."
The Black Book includes:
- A total of 892 group testimonies detailing the experiences of 12,654 people.
- The violence many endured in Italy, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary along the so-called ‘Balkan route’ including maps, data, photos and other key information.
- The types of suffering and violence perpetrated by border agents, member state police forces, soldiers – even guard dogs.
- Documented incidents that could be clearly described as sadistic, merciless, humiliating and degrading treatment.
See: 'Black book' of thousands of illegal migrant pushbacks presented to EU (The Guardian, link)
| Volume I (pdf) | Volume II (pdf) |
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