Penava Slams Police Over Torcida, Bozinovic Hits Back

A dispute inside Croatia’s ruling coalition over how police treated Hajduk fans is of interest in Serbia too, because it drags in the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, the SDSS party (Independent Democratic Serb Party) and an incident outside the Serbian Cultural Center in Zagreb, on top of the strain between coalition partners. Homeland Movement (DP) leader Ivan Penava held a press conference outside Split city hall on October 20. He condemned the Nazi chants from the Torcida march, then accused the Interior Ministry and journalists of “pumping up” the issue “to the point of madness”.

The trigger was the chanting in the fan march toward Poljud stadium before the Conference League match between Hajduk and Ajax. Police identified 23 people suspected of publicly inciting violence and hatred, and pretrial detention was ordered for some of them. Police published photos of nine men and put out a search for them, and that publication became the target of Penava’s attack.

What did Penava say in Split?

Standing with Penava were DP parliamentary club chair Ivica Kukavica, MP Predrag Misic and county DP chair Marko Zaja. Penava held up the front pages of Jutarnji list, Vecernji list and Index, which carried photos of the wanted suspects, and then addressed reporters.

He voiced his condemnation at the start, saying both he and his party distance themselves from the chants:

“Mentioning Hitler in Split in 2026, terrible. Deserves condemnation.”

He then turned on the police, saying the Interior Ministry, which his party generally praises, had this time shown a different attitude to the matter. He also asked who had started what he called a witch hunt and a pile-on, and when one reporter shouted that his own government had, he replied that the reporter was free to call his own press conference. He singled out Index over a poll that mentions terrorists in Torcida’s ranks.

A large part of the speech went to comparisons. He recalled how police dealt with Bad Blue Boys over the incident outside the Serbian Cultural Center in Zagreb, and asked why the organizers of an exhibition devoted to Dejan Medakovic were not being pursued as well. He mentioned the marking of Tito’s birthday in Kumrovec, and cited Patriarch Porfirije singing the song “What Gleams on the Dinara” and attending Ratko Mladic’s funeral as examples of double standards, saying he did not recall anyone calling Porfirije a terrorist for it. When Misic claimed the media had not reported on Porfirije attending the funeral, reporters told him that every Croatian outlet had.

Asked about figures showing the 23 suspects have a combined 212 criminal and 426 misdemeanor reports, he said these were reports, not convictions. He also admitted he does not know whether the suspects took part in fighting fires over the summer, even though he had earlier spoken of Torcida helping firefighters.

“I received unequivocal, clear information, which I believe you know as well, that Torcida took part in putting out the fires. Whether these 23 lads you mention took part, where, when and to what extent, I do not know.”

Asked whether he considers publishing the photos lawful, he said such publications “at this moment, at this seriousness of lawbreaking” had not been seen in Croatia before, but did not say outright that he considers them unlawful. He closed with a demand for equal treatment:

“We demand equal treatment of everyone when it comes to breaking the law.”

Why did Bozinovic respond, and what did he say?

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic answered the same day, during a tour of the state border in the Sisak-Moslavina Police Administration area. His first message was about how politics relates to the police:

“Fortunately, today the police do not act or work according to political expectations, but work professionally and in line with the law.”

He explained that publishing photos of wanted persons is provided for by the Police Duties and Powers Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, and is carried out in coordination with the State Attorney’s Office. He stressed that photos of all suspects were not published, only of those being sought, and that this had been going on for five days, and that pretrial detention has been ordered for the suspects. He added that most of them were already visible in photos and footage from the front row of the march carried by the media, and that nobody objected at the time.

Bozinovic also said police in Split prevented an arranged brawl of about 500 fans a night or two before the events being discussed in recent days. He said such situations force police to pull officers from other administrations, at times from the border. His message to politicians criticizing the police was to let them do their job and to stop the hypocrisy and the political parasitism on the work of Croatian police.

Is the Homeland Movement leaving the government?

Reporters asked Penava whether his criticism of the Interior Ministry and the government means he is considering leaving the coalition. He answered that this is a decision for the party, not for him personally:

“The Homeland Movement will leave the Government of the Republic of Croatia when it decides to do so, and if that happens, it will be over issues that are obstructing processes, for example the uncovering of communist crimes.”

As an example he named the exhumation of Pusina jama and the creation of a public institution or memorial area dedicated to victims of communist crimes. His second condition, he said, is that someone in the coalition shows that DP is a burden and that other partners, such as the SDSS, would be more acceptable. At the same time he ruled out any cooperation with the SDSS and with the Mozemo party:

“Neither will the SDSS come to power, nor will Mozemo.”

Vida TV reporter Branimir Zekic asked him why he behaves like an opposition party if he is part of the government, and Penava replied that DP and he have a right to positions different from the government’s.

Bozinovic answered that question briefly:

“The coalition works. I do not know what prompted Mr. Penava, you should ask him.”

He said aides had sent him a transcript of Penava’s remarks and that the coalition partners meet regularly. According to him, Penava could have raised the questions at a coalition meeting, where he would have received an answer, and is now getting it in public. Asked about confronting communist crimes, he said the topic is under discussion, with Deputy Prime Minister Medved involved in communication with DP. The next coalition meeting, he said, is scheduled for today or tomorrow, though he did not know which day.

What does Spika demand?

Milivoj Spika, head of the Pensioners Together bloc, also reacted. In a statement he criticized the Nazi and antisemitic outbursts by part of Torcida and accused Penava of defending the organizers of the incidents with his public statements. Spika cited figures from deputy police director Damir Baric on 212 criminal and 426 misdemeanor reports against the 23 suspects, noting that these are earlier reports and not necessarily final convictions. He also announced what he will demand if nothing changes:

“If you are not able to do it, I will be among the first, or the first, to personally and on behalf of BUZ publicly demand that Torcida be struck from the register of associations.”