Croatian Singer Thompson Cleared of Fascist Slogan Offence

Marko Perkovic, a singer known by his stage name 'Thompson', was found not guilty in a first-instance verdict on Wednesday of disturbing the public order by chanting "Za dom spremni" ("Ready for the home[land]"), the slogan of Croatian WWII fascist Ustasa movement.

Perkovic was on trial in the town of Slunj for chanting the slogan at his concert on August 5, 2017, during a state-sponsored event marking the 22nd anniversary of Operation Storm, in which the Croatian Army took back territory held by Serb rebels; about 200,000 Serbs fled Croatia as a result.

The court acquitted him, ruling that Perkovic was not inciting hatred by chanting "Za dom spremni" and that the slogan was an integral part of the song he was singing at the time.

"Performing the song did not cause a disturbance of the public order and peace, there were no political messages that would upset citizens and no evidence of inciting hatred," the judge said, according to regional TV station N1.

The verdict can be appealed.

The speaker of the Croatian parliament, Gordan Jandrokovic, refused to comment on the ruling on Thursday, as is usual practice with politicians in Croatia after first-instance verdicts.

"As a politician, it would be inappropriate if I commented on the court's verdicts," Jandrokovic told Croatian media.

The concerts of Marko Perkovic - nicknamed 'Thompson' after the machine gun - regularly cause controversy in the Balkan region.

In 2017, Thompson' held a concert in the Bosnian town of Mostar in support of Bosnian Croat ex-officials on trial for war crimes, where around 8,000 people chanted the slogan "Za dom spremni".

Authorities in the Slovenian town of Maribor banned Perkovic's planned concert earlier that year, citing security...