Croatian Officials Accused of Sharing Sensitive Information About …

An investigation published by the nonprofit organization, Lighthouse Reports in collaboration with other media has revealed that Croatian officials and police used a WhatsApp group to share sensitive data about migrants trying to reach the country without authorization.

According to the news outlet, a total of 60 screenshots of the encrypted WhatsApp group were leaked, identifying 33 participants recorded between August 2019 and February 2020, SchengenVisaInfo.com[1] reports. "We found that among them were Croatian high-ranking officials. The WhatsApp group was used to exchange information about apprehensions of more than 1,300 people of mostly Afghan, Pakistani and Syrian nationality," the report, titled "Inside Croatia's Secret WhatsApp Group," pointed out.

The WhatsApp group is considered to be not related to official means of communication and the usual monitoring procedures and there are strong indications that migrants referenced in this chat group were later subject to illegal pushbacks. On the other hand, the Croatian officials didn't deny but also couldn't confirm the claims, while Davor Bozinovic, the Croatian Interior Minister confirmed that there was a special police operation identified as Corridor that was already mentioned in the screenshots. According to him, Corridor II-West isn't a secret operation and it is designed to curb migrant smugglers and illegal migration for the last five years.

In another statement related to the findings, the Interior Ministry pointed out that all police work is officially filed and using private chat groups by such officials isn't forbidden. "The fact that some information was exchanged via encrypted application does not mean that the practice of police officers is in any way incriminating or illegal," the Interior Ministry noted. Previously, the local media in Croatia revealed that the number of migrants crossing the border is on the rise[2], with 2,500 illegal border crossings being recorded in January alone.

About 1,400 out of those have already filed for asylum. Moreover, asylum seekers from Russia have been more frequent in Croatia,[3] using Bosnia as a gateway to enter the Schengen zone, through its newest member as of January 2023. However, Croatian authorities have explained that the number of Russian nationals that remain in the country is low as they head towards Western Europe once they enter the Schengen countries.

A total of 2,064 asylum requests from Russian citizens to Croatia were recorded in 2022, while in less than two months of 2023, 1,756 Russians reached asylum-seeking centres in Croatia.

A very common phenomenon among Russian nationals is that they apply for protection in Croatia but leave a few days later, very often without waiting for a response from the authorities.

References

1. ^ SchengenVisaInfo.com (www.schengenvisainfo.com)
2. ^ the number of migrants crossing the border is on the rise (www.schengenvisainfo.com)
3. ^ asylum seekers from Russia have been more frequent in Croatia, (www.schengenvisainfo.com)