In response to violence against participants in the “Different Families, Same Rights” Pride march in Split which led to the event having to be stopped, Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia said:
“It is a disgrace that the police failed to adequately protect participants of today’s march.”
“The authorities must hold an immediate investigation into what happened. The police have to make absolutely clear that discriminatory violence is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated.”
“The Croatian authorities need to act to stop this happening in future. A first step would be for all political leaders to state unequivocally that everyone has the right to peacefully demonstrate and express their identity.”
According to one of the march organizers who spoke to Amnesty International, at least five Pride participants were injured when counter-demonstrators threw rocks and other objects at them. One was hospitalized with a head injury.