In Croatia, Torcida publishes posters featuring 12 journalists — Balkan Insight
In Croatia, the Torcida fan group, which supports the Hajduk football club from Split, published portraits of 12 journalists in the form of wanted posters. This happened after reports about pro-Nazi and antisemitic chants by members of the group before Hajduk’s match against the Dutch club Ajax, Balkan Insight reports.
Posters targeting journalists
During a street march before the match, Torcida members chanted “Auschwitz, Auschwitz” and “Get up, Adolf.” After reports of the incident emerged, the group accused journalists of exaggerating the event and said the media had turned a clash with Ajax fans into a nationwide scandal.
Alongside the journalists’ portraits, Torcida posted a caption saying that there was allegedly not enough rope for so many “Judases.” The group also published on Facebook a photograph of a banner bearing an insulting message directed at media representatives.
Authorities’ response and investigation
The Croatian Journalists’ Association, HND, called on the police and prosecution service to respond to Torcida’s actions. The international media freedom protection organization SafeJournalists appealed to the Croatian authorities to urgently protect journalists and hold those responsible accountable.
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Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said he supports journalists regardless of the authorities’ attitude toward their views, comments, or possible biases.
At the same time, Ivan Penava, president of the far-right coalition Homeland Movement, called the actions against Torcida a political and media witch hunt. He also criticized the Interior Ministry and the media for publishing photographs of suspects wanted by police.
Police identified 23 people suspected of publicly inciting violence and hatred. Several of them were detained, while six remain in custody. Interior Minister Davor Božinović said police published photos only of suspects who were wanted, in hiding, or had fled, in accordance with the law on police activities.
