Croatia police charge 23 over pro-Nazi chants ahead of match

ZAGREB, OCT 19: Police said on Monday they had charged 23 people over pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic chants ahead of a Hajduk Split match against Dutch side Ajax which sparked outrage in Croatia.

Ahead of last week's UEFA Conference League meeting, Hajduk Split fans marched through the coastal town chanting: "Crush the Jews", "Rise up Adolf (Hitler)" and "Let's go Ustasha", referring to the country's World War II pro-Nazi regime, according to local media footage and reports.

Croatia's leaders, opposition parties, rights groups as well as the Jewish community strongly condemned the incident while Israel's embassy in Zagreb said it was "deeply shocked."
Police have filed criminal charges against 23 people "suspected of ... publicly inciting violence and hatred", a statement said.

Six people are in custody, police are processing two more and a search is under way for the remaining 15, the statement added.�"AFP