Over a thousand protesters have marched in Zagreb following a homophobic attack on a nightclub over the weekend.
The unknown attacker threw tear gas into the Super Super Club, causing panic as people smashed windows and ran to escape the building. Two people were injured.
In response, people have marched with rainbow flags to raise awareness about discrimination against LGBT people in Croatia, waving banners that read: "We don't tolerate intolerance" and “We are unstoppable”.
Activist group Zagreb Pride called the incident a “hate crime” and a direct attack on the LGBT community.
Pozz s ljubavnog prosvjeda / @zagrebpride pic.twitter.com/YF1eicFKuZ — Martina Maric (@Artina_MM) February 13, 2017
The group released a statement saying: “Over the past few months, we have been faced with the escalation of hatred in public, spurred by increasingly aggressive and louder discourse of the radical clerical right wing circles, which is contrary to the constitutional values of Croatia, but which has been met with the tacit approval of the Croatian Government.”
The country’s conservative government said it “firmly opposes any form of violence and hate speech, as well as racial, religious and gender discrimination,” according to AFP.
