The Police Trade Union (SPH) on Friday said that it stood by border police officers "who responsibly protect the border and citizens" and ruled out collective responsibility for potential errors made by individuals.

Prompted by criticism of some civil society associations and the human rights ombudswoman, after a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the application lodged by the family of a six-year-old Afghan girl who died when she was hit by a train on the Croatian-Serbian border, the police trade union emphasises that the police protect the border and all residents in Croatia in a responsible manner, despite difficult conditions and pressure caused by hundreds of irregular migrants trying to cross into Croatian territory illegally.

The SPH finds it unacceptable to rush with conclusions that police officers act as if they are above the law and in parallel to justify illegal crossings of irregular migrants who shun official border crossings.

Croatian police officers have shown on several occasions that they help illegal migrants when they find themselves in dangerous situations while travelling across rugged terrain in inclement weather conditions.

The ECHR on Thursday ruled that the investigation into the death of the six-year-old girl had been ineffective and ruled that Croatia pay her family a compensation of €40,000 and €16,700 in court costs. Madina Hussiny was killed in November 2017 when she was hit by a train on the Croatian-Serbian border after her family had allegedly been denied the opportunity to seek asylum by Croatian authorities and were ordered to return to Serbia via the train tracks.