Only Greece can request the transfer of proceedings against Croatian football fans suspected of riots in Athens in which a Greek fan was killed, to Croatia, Justice Minister Ivan Malenica said on Thursday. Pročitaj više

Following the clashes between AEK Athens and Dinamo Zagreb supporters in Athens, which happened on 7 August ahead of a UEFA Champions League third-qualifying-round match between AEK and Dinamo, the Greek police arrested 102 Dinamo supporters.

Dinamo supporters, who call themselves Bad Blue Boys, now fear retaliation in Greek prisons and are asking the Croatian authorities through their parents to protect them and make it possible for them to return to Croatia as soon as possible.

Under international law, the transfer of the proceedings to Croatia can be requested only by Greece, and that possibility exists only if the suspects are beyond the reach of the Greek authorities, that is, if they are in Croatia or some other country, Justice Minister Malenica said.

“We expect the Greek authorities to ensure a fair and speedy trial,” the minister said.

Greek judicial authorities have not asked Zagreb for data from the police records of the arrested Croatian nationals or those who have possibly returned to Croatia, the minister said.

However, the Croatian Embassy in Athens has requested data for some of them for the purpose of their defence. It has thus been established that 47 have no record of previous criminal behaviour while 11 do, but Malenica could not specify the offences.

Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said that the government was doing all in its power, and that an official who speaks Greek has left for Athens to help additionally improve communication with the Greek authorities.

“We are very satisfied with that communication. We believe news coming from the Greek authorities, not the media. Greece is a law-based state with an autonomous judiciary,” he said.

Suggesting that to some degree, the football fans have only themselves to blame for their current situation, Grlić Radman recalled that they had known in advance that they could not enter the AEK stadium and tried to conceal that they were travelling to Greece.

“We do not want to speculate if they are guilty and if so, of what. What is important is protection of Croatian nationals. Regardless of who they are and what they do, they must be provided with consular assistance and legal protection,” the minister said.

“Are the proceedings too slow? It’s difficult to comment on that. It is only natural that we want this situation to be over as soon as possible,” he said.