Croat charged with hate crime for attempting to attack gay parade
Croatian prosecutors on Tuesday indicted a 25-year-old man on hate crime charges for allegedly attempting to attack a gay parade in Zagreb earlier this year.The man, identified only as Josip S., is charged with endangering lives and property by an act of hatred toward the participants of the Gay Pride parade in July, the Zagreb district prosecutors’ office said.
The man is the first person in Croatia to face hate crime charges since it was introduced into the Penal Code last year. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison. No date for a trial was immediately set.
Police spotted the man as he prepared to throw homemade Molotov cocktails — bottles containing gasoline — at the parade participants gathering at Zagreb’s main square. He fled the scene, but was tracked down later at his home.
Several participants and supporters of the parade were lightly injured in attacks across the town, as some remain antagonistic toward homosexuality in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.
Source: iht.com