Sergej Trifunović expelled, banned from entering Croatia and EU for one year

(Patria) - After the arrest of Serbian actor Sergej Trifunović and the insults he directed at the Split police on his Instagram, the police have also responded. Sergej Trifunović has been banned from entering Croatia and the Schengen area for a period of one year.

“Prompted by a public post on a social network full of inaccurate information, as well as insulting and derogatory words directed at police officers, we are obliged to inform the public of the accurate information and facts related to our actions.

In the past two days, the man exhibited behavior in the Split area that constituted five misdemeanors. Following calls from citizens and a requested intervention at Kaštelet beach due to a misdemeanor under Article 30 of the Law on Misdemeanors against Public Order and Peace, the man, unprovoked, insulted police officers in a manner unsuitable for public publication.

Very soon after the completion of this procedure, on Saturday in the Split area, the man again committed a misdemeanor under Article 30. The next day, September 9, 2023, he disturbed public order and peace on a social network by posting and highlighting text of inappropriate content,” the statement reads.

“Along with mockery, he also disparaged the work of security guards who, hired by the City of Split, perform their duties daily during the night hours to ensure the smooth functioning and nighttime peace for the citizens of Split, especially the old city core.

He showed persistence even when, in the post below the text, he continued insulting and disparaging an official person, despite the fact that the previous day, September 8, 2023, he had been fined for the same misdemeanor.

Due to the commission of the described misdemeanors, he was issued fines in accordance with the law. The actions of the police officers were professional and lawful at all times, and the fines imposed are not extortion but penalties determined by the laws of the Republic of Croatia,” the police said.

“We will not refer here to the other derogatory names for police officers and insults he made in his post, as that is not appropriate for the public space, but in this case as well, it is again a conscious and persistent violation of the law, for which we will conduct an investigation.

Given that it was established that the man, within a short period of two days, repeatedly committed misdemeanors, thereby showing persistence and intent not to respect court decisions and the legal order of the Republic of Croatia, the conditions from the Law on Foreigners for issuing a decision on expulsion from the European Economic Area (EEA) were met, and he was imposed a ban on entry and stay in the EEA for a period of one year.

Finally, each of us can freely choose the place and country to visit, but each of us is also obliged to respect the laws of that country,” they said.