Protests in front of private apartments and houses raise both legal and ethical questions, where the right to freedom of expression and public assembly conflicts with the right to respect for private and family life, home, and dignity.
“I was in Split, in the street where the parents of my colleague Boris Dežulović live, in front of whose house a group of extremists—who behave as the greatest enemies of Croatia—intended to hold a ‘peaceful protest’ that was anything but peaceful,” writes Hrvoje Zovko.
“It was an attempt at pressure, intimidation, and threats because of his constitutional right to freedom of expression. What I witnessed, observing the behavior of these extremists—who followed a pattern of insults, threats, then prayer, then again insults and threats—was a civilizational low point. Invoking patriotism while attempting to harass two elderly people is not a position, but a serious symptom.
Even if our colleague Dežulović himself lived there, it would be unacceptable to show up at someone’s doorstep. Those who seek their ‘justice’ at someone else’s doorstep have neither honor nor integrity. What kind of peaceful protest is it when it includes numerous insults and threats directed at journalists and the police, along with messages like ‘you will be fleeing Croatia’? It is also important to note that this same group of extremists has been conducting an unimpeded incitement campaign against the weekly newspaper Novosti for over a decade.”
The full text is available on Večernji.hr