The Documentation and Information Center Veritas today warned Serbian citizens traveling to Croatia that, because of social media posts which authorities in that country treat as “disturbing public order and peace,” including “glorification of war criminals,” they may face judicial and administrative proceedings that, in addition to fines and suspended prison sentences, may also result in a ban on entering the European Union.
Veritas issued the warning following the arrest of Serbian footballer Branislav Joka (37) at a stadium in Bolman and the prosecution of artist Svetlana Spajić in Zadar, claiming that Croatia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs uses a “dual legal mechanism for the expedited expulsion and punishment of Serbs.”
“We warn citizens that completely separate judicial and administrative proceedings are currently being applied in Croatia. After the Misdemeanor Court issues a decision – which can even be extremely lenient, such as a fine or a suspended prison sentence – the proceedings against Serbian citizens are not thereby concluded,” Veritas said.
They warned that “completely independently of the court, Croatian police at police stations initiate a parallel administrative procedure ex officio under the Foreigners Act.”
“Croatia’s MUP uses its discretionary powers to impose an expulsion measure and a ban on entering the European Economic Area (EU + Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) on a foreign national (a citizen of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.), which most often lasts from three months to one year. This measure is automatically entered into the Schengen Information System (SIS), thereby blocking citizens from entering the entire European Union,” the statement said.
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It added that social media posts (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) are the most common reason for such actions by Croatian authorities.
“Croatian border and internal police have special units that closely and retroactively monitor the profiles of citizens of Serbian nationality. Under the offense of ‘disturbing public order and peace,’ which also includes the ‘glorification of war criminals,’ even temporary Facebook ‘stories’ that are visible online for just 24 hours, as well as videos featuring traditional songs that were posted months or years ago, are classified as such,” Veritas said.
The statement also says that the police expulsion measure and SIS ban cannot be applied to people who, in addition to Serbian or another citizenship, also hold Croatian citizenship because, under that country’s Constitution, no Croatian citizen can be expelled from the country or prohibited from entering it.
“Dual citizens may be held accountable before a misdemeanor court and fined for a disputed post or song, but the police have no authority over them under the Foreigners Act,” the Documentation and Information Center Veritas said.
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Source: Nova ; Foto:ANTONIO BAT / EPA
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