Croatia: Persons who attacked Serbian athletes identified

Croatia: Persons who attacked Serbian athletes identified

They are suspected of committing the criminal act of "bodily harm due to hate crime."

A Croatian police statement, as quoted by the website, said that the September 8 incident occurred on "August 8 this year, at around 21:50 (CET)," and that the "damaged parties who were accompanied by three more minors (all players of the youth water polo team from Belgrade) were approached by the suspects in (Zagreb's) Vlaska Street, and, as one of the damaged parties was wearing his club's t-shirt, they started insulting them, and then attacked them physically."

In addition, the suspect who is underage also "set off a pyrotechnic device and threw it in the direction of the damaged parties, after which the suspects, along with two as of this time unidentified males,used their arms and legs to strike the damaged parties on their entire bodies, and then escape toward the Bishop Galjuf Street."

One member of the Serbian water polo youth team suffered a broken finger, while several others received blows to their head inflicted by "bars and hands," Dragan Tomasevic, the father of one of the victims, told the Serbian state broadcaster RTS after the attack.

The Croatian police statement added that Partizan water polo club youths received medical treatment at Zagreb's Traumatology Clinic, and were found to be suffering light injuries.

"After the completed criminal investigation, the suspects were turned over to the detention authority, while police officers submitted a special report to the appropriate state prosecution. The criminal probe in the sense of determining the identity of the two additional unknown male persons who were among the attackers continues," the police in Zagreb said.

After the incident, on September 9, the Partizan Belgrade water polo youth squad went on to qualify for the final of the "Mali Medo" ("Little Bear") tournament in Zagreb, and win second place, losing 11-9 to Vasas, a club from Budapest, Hungary.