PM Loses Human Rights Award Over Facebook Protest

The Croatian PM was supposed to have received an award for the protection and promotion of human rights, however, he will not get it.

Mladen Bajic, head Croatian State Attorney, has snatched away the Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) “Miko Tripalo” award from Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.

The award will allegedly be presented to Bajic on Wednesday, according to the Vecernji list paper, while certain sources claim PM Sanader was also nominated for the award.

Criticised because of reduced rights

The Croatian PM was supposed to have received the award for the protection and promotion of human rights, which was annulled by the anti-government protest organised by a Facebook group and bookings of the group`s activists to such extent that Sanader was criticised because of reduced human rights at a closed sitting of the Croatian Helsinki Committee.

The HHO has been presenting the award for the promotion of human rights and law-based state every year on December 10, which is Human Rights Day, as well as the day when the Universal United Nations Declaration on Human Rights was passed, which will celebrate its 60 th anniversary this year.

Other winners include Ivan Devcic, for the promotion of religious tolerance and inter-religion dialogue; as well as a group of boys who have revealed the killer of 19-year-old Luka Ritz, who will be presented with the Aleksandra Zec award for youth and children and violence victims.

Luka Ritz could not have received the Aleksandra Zec award because it cannot be awarded posthumously.