The Hungarian police are rejecting media claims that police officers beat up journalists on the Roszke border crossing with Serbia on Wednesday, the National Police Command told the press agency TASR on Thursday. At the same time they denied reports that any journalists were arrested in a police operation. Meanwhile, the police are prosecuting-at-large citizens of Australia, Slovakia and Poland who are suspected of crossing border barriers illegally.
According to the National Police Command, people who happened to be in the area, including journalists, were warned in several languages not to hinder the police in the operation. "The police didn't beat up anybody, they were acting in line with legal norms and used appropriate coercive measures against members of an aggressive group that was attacking the state border, the outer border of the European Union and police officers guarding the border", said the Hungarian police. Moreover, they added that the attacks were life-threatening for the officers.
Nevertheless, several journalists didn't comply with the calls and remained in the area. Hungarian news website Heti Valasz reported that three reporters were arrested, including a female journalist from Slovakia. Slovak daily Dennik N reported in the meantime that the arrested journalist was its staff member Timea Becková. She was allegedly hit with a baton on her back and leg. She admitted she had illegally crossed the Serbian - Hungarian border. "I was pulled to the Hungarian part by the police", she explained for RTVS TV news. It's been claimed that the reporters were put in handcuffs and spent an entire night at a police station.
