Belgrade, Serbia – In a trash-filled area of dilapidated buildings known as the “barracks” along the train tracks of Belgrade’s central train station, where large rats scurry around and medics boil water in a pot over an outdoor fire, discussions revolve around the latest rumors—about the policies of Hungary’s Fidesz government. Most of the barracks’ residents have already attempted to cross the border into Hungary, many several times. All of them have been pushed back, and describe brutal beatings by Hungarian police personnel. In a small medical tent, a young female medic was tending to an Afghan refugee. He showed her his deeply swollen leg—a Hungarian policeman beat him with a baton. “I see about 15-20 patients a week who suffer from injuries they say are the result of police violence,” said the medic. Doctors treating refugees returning from the Hungarian border are growing increasingly alarmed at the injuries they are seeing and the reported brutality of the Hungarian police.
