Two 20-year-old men have been fined 700 euros each after shouting the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil” and raising their right arms while passing pedestrians in the Croatian coastal city of Zadar, local media reported.
The Municipal Court in Zadar found the pair guilty of violating Croatia’s public order and peace law after an incident on May 10, when they twice shouted the Nazi slogan and performed the accompanying salute in a public place.
Under Croatian law, displaying symbols or performing gestures associated with the Nazi regime is punishable by fines ranging from 700 to 4,000 euros or up to 30 days in prison.
Both defendants admitted the offense, telling the court they regretted their actions and had been heavily intoxicated at the time. They said their behavior resulted from excessive alcohol consumption while socializing with friends.
The court based its ruling on the defendants’ confessions and police video footage, concluding that all elements of the offense had been met.
In its reasoning, the court noted that “Sieg Heil” was historically used by the Nazi Party during rallies in the 1930s and 1940s and remains an internationally recognized symbol of Nazism and hatred.
While the defendants’ admission of guilt was considered a mitigating factor, the court cited previous misdemeanor convictions for similar offenses as an aggravating circumstance.
Croatia has seen only a limited number of such cases in recent years. In 2018, a man in Zagreb was fined for giving a Nazi salute in the city’s central square.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that expressions promoting hatred, Nazism or totalitarian ideologies are not protected under freedom of expression provisions, as such symbols are widely recognized as incitements to hatred.