Rijeka court fined Ronald Barišić €3,150 over HOS insignia and false news
The municipal court in Rijeka found the head of an association, Ronald Barišić, guilty of three offences from a demonstration about migrants. The total fine imposed amounted to €3,150.
Barišić fined over HOS flag, false news and failure as rally organiser
The municipal court in Rijeka found Ronald Barišić (24), chairman of the Association for a Better Croatia, guilty of three offences and imposed a total fine of €3,150, according to 24sata.
This concerns the judicial conclusion of the "For the Salvation of Croatian Culture" demonstration held in late last year at Jadranski trg in Rijeka, where approximately one hundred citizens gathered, according to court documents.
The court imposed three separate fines on Barišić: €2,100 for displaying a HOS flag with the inscription "Za dom spremni", €750 for spreading false news in a speech at the demonstration, and €300 for failing to respond as rally organiser to the performance of the song "Uncle Ivane from 1945".
Following the demonstration, the First Police Station Rijeka initiated proceedings against Barišić. He and his association subsequently publicly criticised police on multiple occasions and claimed that displaying HOS insignia did not constitute a violation of the law.
In court, Barišić rejected all charges. He argued that the flag was permitted and officially recognised, and pointed out that a defence lawyer from Vinkovci who had defended Vukovar participated in the demonstration, as did representatives of the 9th Battalion. He stated that he had not used the insignia with the intention of glorifying the NDH or racist ideology, and in his written defence cited previous court decisions regarding the salute "Za dom spremni" and HOS insignia.
The court did not accept this defence. In its reasoning, the court particularly emphasised that the demonstration did not commemorate an anniversary of the HOS, nor was it held as a commemoration of fallen members of that unit — rather, it was a demonstration "For the Salvation of Croatian Culture". The court cited the Dialogue Document of the Council for Dealing with the Consequences of Undemocratic Regimes, according to which any exception for public use of such military insignia should be strictly tied to events at which honour is paid to defenders who died under them.
Source: 24sata