European court reject Croatia's appeal in the case of Afghan girl killed on border with Serbia

Photo: Private archive

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed a verdict according to which Croatia violated the right to life of Madina Hussiny, a six-year-old Afghan girl who died on the border with Serbia.

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This once again confirmed the verdict that Croatia violated Madina's right to life, treated children inhumanely by keeping them in custody, illegally deprived the whole family of their liberty, and collectively expelling a part of the family, and after all that, denied them access to a lawyer.

The European Court of Human Rights previously ruled that Croatia must pay 40,000 euros in compensation to Madina Hussiny's family.

The girl died in the night of November 21, 2017, after she was hit by a train in Serbia near the Croatian-Serbian border. The Hussein family left Afghanistan in 2016, traveling through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia, before arriving at the Croatian border.

Madina was killed on the Sid-Tovarnik line after a train hit her in the night, immediately after her mother and six other children were forced to return to Serbia by the Croatian police officers who intercepted them, showing them where to go by directing them with flashlights towards Serbia, all the way to the railroad where the girl was hit by the train.

In December 2017, the family filed criminal charges against unidentified Croatian border police officers, stating that after an enounter in Croatian territory, officials denied them any opportunity to seek asylum and ordered them to return to Serbia along the railroad.

(Telegraf.rs)