Croatian Police Director Nikola Milina said on Friday that three police officers, who were recognised as some of the persons in video recordings showing violent pushbacks against illegal migrants, were suspended, and further disciplinary steps would be taken.

A task force, set up to deal with the allegations about the violence against migrants along the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, established that the three riot police officers could be seen in the video recordings released earlier this week.

The behaviour of the suspended police officers has amounted to a violation of their duties, which undermines the reputation of the police, Milina said.

It has been established that those three police officers were engaged in those violent pushbacks while they were on duty.

“It is our responsibility to shed light on the whole case. We do not want such individual incidents to be detrimental to the fact that the Croatian police receive commendations for their work in the protection of the European Union’s external border and for other duties they perform,” Milina said.

He reiterated that there were no orders about the violent treatment of illegal migrants.

At least three times a week I remind police departments’ heads that no unlawful use of violence against vulnerable groups, including migrants, is allowed, he said.