Prosecution Opened Over Flag Burning in Subotica

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Subotica opened a case on June 2 for the criminal offence of harming the reputation of a foreign state, after a Hungarian flag was taken from a graduating pupil of Hungarian ethnicity and set on fire. The move came only days after an incident that drew sharp responses from both the authorities and representatives of the minority community.

It all unfolded on May 29 at around 9.30 a.m., outside the Ivan Saric Technical School in Subotica, during a graduation send-off. According to what is known so far, two minors took the flag from a pupil of Hungarian ethnicity, after which it was burned in the city centre. The Subotica Police Department collected evidence and surveillance camera footage.

What exactly is the case examining

Prosecutors are running the case under the qualification of harming the reputation of a foreign state, an offence aimed at protecting another country’s national symbols. The Subotica Police Department, which worked to clarify the case, forwarded the gathered evidence, including video recordings from surveillance cameras near the school and in the city centre.

Because two minors are believed to have taken part in the incident, proceedings against them follow the special rules that apply to juveniles. This means the identity of the minors stays protected, while the focus is on establishing the circumstances and responsibility. The key points being checked are:

• who took the flag from the pupil, and how
• where and how the flag was burned
• whether there were other participants or instigators

Why did the state respond so quickly

The incident carried political weight because it touches on relations between national communities in multi-ethnic Subotica. Minister for Human and Minority Rights Demo Berisa strongly condemned the event on June 1, calling it unacceptable.

We must not allow such individual incidents to threaten the good relations that exist among the national communities in Serbia.

The leader of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, Balint Pastor, described the act as a serious criminal offence, stressing that conduct of this kind must not go unanswered. The swift reaction from prosecutors and the political leadership shows that the event is not being treated as a mere bit of street mischief, but as a question that touches the very basis of coexistence in a city with a sizeable Hungarian community.

It remains to be seen how the case will end, and whether it can send a clear message that attacks on the symbols of any community have no place in Subotica. Do you think the institutions are reacting decisively enough this time?