"On November 23rd, Mukter Hossain, a 41-year-old man from Bangladesh, died inside Lipa TRC after authorities refused to provide help during a clear medical emergency. His death cannot be understood merely as systemic neglect, but a direct refusal to provide life-saving assistance. ... He told residents that he had been beaten, including a heavy blow to the right side of his ribs with the back of a gun. Upon arrival at the camp, he was in severe pain and vomiting. The camp’s medical unit examined him superficially, only providing painkillers and antiemetic medication; there was no follow-up, diagnostics, or monitoring. Over the following two days, his condition deteriorated rapidly. By November 21st, he could no longer eat or leave his bed. Residents repeatedly asked guards and camp staff to provide medical attention or call an ambulance. These requests were dismissed with excuses such as “There is no medical staff now” and “We will send someone tomorrow.” No care was provided."

BORDER VIOLENCE MONITORING NEWOTK (May 2025): "The EU granted the Vienna-based International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) a mandate to build a detention unit at the Lipa TRC in Bihać, northwestern Bosnia, an initiative publicly announced in March 2022, after construction was already underway. The European Commission and Austria financed the construction of the main Lipa camp with €1.1 million, while EU accession funds covered the cost of the detention unit with €500,000.
In January 2023, the Global Detention Project reported that field observers had seen containers installed and separated from the rest of the Lipa camp. According to SOS Balkanroute, the detention area was surrounded by a high fence, equipped with surveillance cameras at every corner, barred windows, and cells with almost no natural light.
However, after months of pressure from SOS Balkanroute, other civil society groups, and journalists, the plan to operate the detention unit was halted. The turning point came when ICMPD failed to provide a valid building permit or documentation on the company awarded the construction contract, as reported in February 2023. Local authorities in Bihać and the Una Sana Canton also stated they were never informed about the detention unit and criticized the lack of transparency from the government. In a further attempt to defend its actions, ICMPD sued SOS Balkanroute’s founder Pero Rosandić, but lost the case in an Austrian court, which confirmed that ICMPD neither had a valid construction permit from local authorities nor a legal basis to detain migrants there.
After this, the city of Bihać issued a decision to demolish the detention unit. However, field reporters and people on the move say otherwise. The unit still exists: a cluster of container units enclosed by a high fence and separated from the rest of the Lipa camp. People on the move have shared that although the unit is not officially operational as a detention facility, it is often used for punishment and isolation when people are deemed to be causing “disturbances” in the camp. Thus, the Lipa TRC would indeed have an unofficial detention area, used much like isolation units in carceral systems. This area remains opaque and virtually inaccessible to independent observers, with little to no external oversight. Although Lipa is not officially designated as a closed camp, its remote and isolated location severely limits practical freedom of movement for those staying there. As a result, many people find themselves effectively trapped, with few options to leave or access services elsewhere."