The HHO said in a statement these were the first legal proceedings for spreading national hatred through speech instigated after the fall of communism, adding that institutions had not reacted in the same way to hate speech from the highest officials or common citizens or to chauvinistic and racists outbursts at football matches.
However, the HHO said Mamic's statement about Science, Education and Sports Minister Zeljko Jovanovic was unacceptable and a classic example of hate speech against a member of a minority, in this case a Serb, and that it clashed with the constitutional principles on the equality of all citizens.
The HHO also labelled Jovanovic's threats that he would remove Mamic from football in any way as unacceptable political interference in sports.
The HHO praised the Croatian Football Federation's decision to instigate disciplinary proceedings against Mamic, but described politicians' comments on this case as inappropriate, as they constituted pressure on the judiciary.