Croatia/Municipal Criminal Court in Zagreb/Kzd-10/2023

Country

Croatia

Title

Croatia/Municipal Criminal Court in Zagreb/Kzd-10/2023

Not publicly available

Year

2023

Decision/ruling/judgment date

Monday, July 24, 2023

Incident(s) concerned/related

Violence

Related Bias motivation

Racial or ethnic origin

Groups affected

People/organisations associated with Muslims

Court/Body type

National Court

Court/Body

Municipal Criminal Court in Zagreb (Općinski kazneni sud u Zagrebu)

Key facts of the case

On 2 March 2021, in Zagreb, a 37-year-old man physically and verbally assaulted a 14-year-old Roma boy without provocation. He insulted him using anti-Roma slurs (“Cigane, j*** ti majku cigansku.”) and hit him multiple times while chasing him through a public space. The boy experienced fear, humiliation, and trauma. The accused was intoxicated at the time and claimed memory loss.

Main reasoning/argumentation

The court found the accused guilty of hate-motivated violent conduct under Article 323a in connection with Article 87(21) of the Criminal Code. Despite claims of memory loss due to intoxication, expert assessments confirmed he retained cognitive function. The court accepted the victim’s and his parents’ consistent testimonies and concluded the crime was committed with direct intent and out of ethnic hatred.

Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?

Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case

The case clarified the interpretation of bias-motivated violence under Article 323a KZ/11 and the evidentiary standards for establishing intent in cases where the defendant claims memory loss due to intoxication. It reinforced that hate speech combined with physical assault against a person or groups due to their actual or perceived race or ethnicity can constitute criminal conduct rooted in hate, even without visible physical injury.

Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case

The defendant was sentenced to one year of unconditional imprisonment and ordered to undergo mandatory treatment for alcohol addiction. He must also reimburse court expenses. The ruling confirms that intoxication does not exempt responsibility for hate crimes and signals a strong legal stance against anti-Roma racism and violence, especially when minors are involved.

Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details

„(...) optuženik je time nasiljem na javnom mjestu drugoga doveo u ponižavajući položaj, a time nije počinjeno teže kazneno djelo, te je djelo počinjeno iz mržnje.“ "(...) the defendant, by committing violence in a public place, placed another in a humiliating position; although the crime was not more severe, it was committed out of hatred."

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.