Rijeka: 700 Euro Fine Over Ustasha Song at Mural Unveiling

Police in Rijeka have closed their case over the Ustasha song “Jasenovac i Gradiska stara,” played at the unveiling of a mural by the supporters’ group Armada. The song glorifies the Ustasha regime and its crimes against Serbs, and it led to two separate consequences. The 31-year-old Croatian citizen who organized the gathering received a misdemeanor order with a fine of 700 euros, while a 41-year-old woman was reported to the state attorney’s office over a video she posted on social media.

What did police establish about the gathering in Vezica?

The gathering took place on October 17 on Kvaternikova Street in the Rijeka neighborhood of Vezica, to mark the unveiling of a mural dedicated to the city of Rijeka and the HNK Rijeka football club. Officers from the Second Police Station in Rijeka handled the case. According to the police statement, the 31-year-old, as organizer, allowed the song to be played publicly, which disturbed the peace and the dignity of citizens. He was served a misdemeanor order under Article 5, paragraph 1 of the Law on Misdemeanors Against Public Order and Peace.

The 41-year-old woman is accused of publicly posting a video containing the song on social media, making it available to an unlimited number of users. She was reported on suspicion of publicly inciting violence and hatred under Article 325, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. This is a suspicion, not an established guilt, and the competent state attorney’s office will decide on it.

Why does Skurinje come up on the same day?

On the night of October 22, a HOS mural bearing the greeting “Za dom spremni” in Skurinje, near the Ivan Zajc Elementary School, was doused in red paint. The civic initiative “Ulice bez mrznje” (Streets Without Hatred) claimed responsibility. In a statement sent to the media, it said:

We are fed up with the relativization of history and the toleration of fascist symbols in public space. We doused the HOS mural bearing the Ustasha salute because we refuse to accept that the symbols of a regime responsible for mass crimes should become something normal and socially acceptable.

In the same statement, the initiative lists Serbs, Jews, Roma and Croatian anti-fascists as people killed under that salute, and names the camps at Jasenovac, Jadovno, Gospic and Jastrebarsko. Reports from October 23 contain no information on whether police reacted to the dousing of the mural.

The Skurinje mural is not a new subject. As early as April 2026, the initiative asked Rijeka Mayor Iva Rincic to have the Ustasha salute removed from the HOS emblem on the overpass. In July, the city administration replied that the unauthorized graffiti would be removed after a police inspection, and the emblem was removed. Veterans’ associations and Armada then restored the whole mural, and a video surfaced in which some of those present shout “Za dom spremni” and raise their right hands. At a working meeting with Mayor Rincic, it was agreed to draw up a register of murals dedicated to the Homeland War, and the mayor announced a written request to three ministries for a binding interpretation of the insignia of wartime units.

What do the veterans say?

Perica Prpic, president of the Association of the Special Police of the Homeland War “Ajkula” (Shark), called the dousing a deliberate provocation:

It is a conscious provocation that is completely unnecessary at the time that lies ahead of us.

Prpic added: “Dialogue is the only solution, and we have nothing against dialogue.” He also invited representatives of the initiative to a meeting, to present their arguments under their own names.

Claudio Vukonic, president of the Community of Homeland War Associations of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, said: “This is vandalism. There is no doubt about it.” On what should happen now, he said: “I think we should sit down and talk so that tensions can be avoided.”

According to local media, the Skurinje mural had already caused political clashes within Rijeka’s ruling majority.