Migrants and police corruption

Internal control of the police in Serbia should investigate findings of the Human Rights Watch that the Serbian police is taking money from migrants.

By Saša Djordjević (BCSP)

Imagine a van with 50 passengers inside, migrants, travelling through Serbia. Before they reached Serbia, these people travelled across several thousand kilometres in search of a better life. Suddenly, they are stopped by the police, who are asking for money and mobile phones. If the migrants do not voluntarily hand over their possessions, the police use force. Reportedly, the migrants have two options: to hand their money over to the police or to return to Macedonia. Their choice is clear. Human Rights Watch indicate that this is something that occurs in Serbia. The problem’s name, police corruption. Police officers abuse their authority for personal gain.

The Ministry of Interior denial of the HRW claims is rather unconvincing. In a statement, the Ministry emphasises that migrants have not filed harassment complaints to the Serbian authorities. The lack of complaints is hardly proof that such cases do not occur. The fundamental question is whether migrants even know how to file a complaint with the police. Even Serbian citizens are rarely prepared to report police corruption. According to research by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), 72 percent would not or are not sure whether they would report corruption if they were required to leave their personal details. The most common reasons are fear for their personal safety and a lack of confidence in the state to protect them. It is reasonable to believe that migrants have the same fears when faced with having to hand over money a police officer under duress.

The Ministry of Interior denials of the HRW claims were surprisingly prompt. On the same day the HRW analysis was released, the Ministry highlighted that the claims of corruption reported to HRW were not sufficient to determine the responsibility of specific officers. The question that naturally arises from this is whether the Ministry and, in this particular case, the Internal Affairs Sector, could investigate all of the Human Rights Watch allegations in less than one day. The information provided by HRW is sufficient for Internal Affairs to launch an investigation. The incidents occurred in the vicinity of Subotica, Belgrade and the southern and eastern parts of Serbia. These are exactly the parts of the Serbian border that are especially vulnerable to corruption as they are on the transit route to the EU. The incidents involved the appropriation of property owned by the migrants. Such cases have been recorded by the Border Police Administration in the past. Finally, this is not something that is unique to Serbia. Similar practiced have been confirmed in eight EU member states and, in two of them, frequently.

The Internal Affairs Sector should investigate the Human Rights Watch findings showing that Serbian police officers are extorting money from migrants. The results of the investigation should be submitted to the Minister of Interior and be made available to the public. The most important thing is to accept the invitation HRW sent to the Ministry and hold a meeting with them – something that has yet to be done.

The article was originally published on internet portal Peščanik.