The Primorje Gorski Kotar police authorities stated on Thursday evening that they had not allowed five Italians, who had arrived by plane at Krk Airport, to proceed with their journey to Croatia after it was established that their luggage contained inappropriate materials in connection with a provocative incident which happened in Rijeka earlier on Thursday.

The five men, aged 23, 56, 63, 70 and 74 had T-shirts and postcards with inappropriate messages which could be connected with the incident on Thursday morning when a historical flag of the Kingdom of Italy was displayed on the fence of the Governor’s Palace in the northern Croatian Adriatic city of Rijeka.

The flag was removed following a tip to the police. The police found two young Italian men at the scene with another, smaller flag and several leaflets, but did not reveal their content. A criminal investigation was launched to identify and locate the persons who had hung the flag.

The Governor’s Palace was the residence of the Italian poet and protofascist Gabriele D’Annunzio during his 16-month occupation of Rijeka, and he used to deliver speeches from its balcony.