Croatian Protest Note to Serbia Over Citizen Treatment

The news in Croatian

1. poslati
   poslati znači prenijeti nešto na drugo mjesto ili drugoj osobi ↩︎
2. prosvjedan
   prosvjedan se odnosi na izražavanje neslaganja ili protesta ↩︎
3. građanin (m.)
   građanin je osoba koja ima zakonska prava i dužnosti unutar neke države ↩︎
4. uhićen
   uhićen znači doveden pod kontrolu vlasti zbog sumnje na kazneno djelo ↩︎
5. protjerati
   protjerati znači prisilno ukloniti nekoga iz zemlje ili područja ↩︎
6. sigurnosni
   sigurnosni znači koji se odnosi na sigurnost ili zaštitu od opasnosti ↩︎

Translation

Text Comprehension

Question: Why did Croatia send a protest note to Serbia?

Question: What did Croatia consider changing after the incident?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
poslati	send
prosvjedan	protest
građanin (m.)	citizen
uhićen	arrested
protjerati	expel
sigurnosni	security

Read the full story

The protest note demands an explanation and expresses strong disapproval of Serbia’s handling of the situation. Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman highlighted the seriousness of the event, noting that the five women, representatives of non-governmental organisations, were attending a workshop organised by Erste Foundation in Belgrade when they were detained by Serbian police.

According to reports, the women were held overnight for questioning at a police station in Belgrade. They were later expelled from Serbia with a ban on entering the country for one year, justified by unspecified security concerns regarding the Republic of Serbia and its citizens.

One of the detained women, art historian Ana Kovačić from Zagreb, described being approached by plainclothes officers at her hotel, who showed badges and insisted on taking them to a police station. Kovačić recounted that the officers refused to answer questions or provide any meaningful clarification.

Minister Grlić Radman condemned the incident, stating that Croatia would reassess travel recommendations to Serbia and alert the European Commission and Poland’s EU Presidency about the situation. Radman also mentioned that they would compile evidence of harassment against Croatian citizens to discuss this further with the EU.

This incident is not the first in a series of recent tensions between the two countries. There have been previous reports of Croatian citizens facing discomfort and unjust treatment in Serbia, including allegations of spying against Croatian students and the broadcast of personal information of a Croatian journalist by prominent figures in Serbia.

The Croatian government has assured its citizens of full diplomatic support and is committed to ensuring their safety while abroad. Meanwhile, Serbia has yet to provide a comprehensive response to these claims.

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