"Today's decision by the High Misdemeanour Court allowing the shouting of the Nazi-Ustasha salute 'For the Homeland Ready' is yet another step in distancing Croatia from civilised countries and peoples," GLAS said in a press release.
A majority of High Misdemeanour Court judges on Wednesday ruled that the chant "For the Homeland Ready" at the start of a song by popular singer Marko Perkovic Thompson does not amount to an offence.
"The immunity of certain institutions because of their alleged independence cannot be justification for decisions that are in contravention with democratic order, humane society and civilisational achievements which we wish to belong to. The banality of spreading evil in Croatia has already brought too much sorrow. It is time to resolutely say no to those occurrences," the press release said.
Historian Ivo Goldstein said that the court ruling is not founded on a healthy liberal-democratic basis while Academic Zvonko Kusic underlined that the Council for Dealing with the Consequences of Undemocratic Regimes made its recommendations for society to define itself towards that notion.
Goldstein, who was a member of the said council, considers that the court ruling is not in line with what the council recommended in 2018 on how to regulate symbols, insignia and other features of totalitarian regimes and movements.
The court has allowed For the Homeland Ready at the start of Thompson's song and that it will not be penalised, but that does not refer to the general use of that chant. Other situations regarding the use of that salute and insignia will continue to be a problem with regard to penalising," said Goldstein.
Academic Kusic told Hina that it is not up to the council nor himself personally to comment on specific court rulings.
"We have provided guidelines that we consider society should respond to and left that open for society to define its position," said Kusic adding that he cannot explicitly comment on the ruling.
"The court has its rationale but I think that it is not up to us to comment on that," added Kusic.