A thousand protest after two injured in attack on LGBT nightclub in Croatia

Around a thousand people have taken to the streets of Croatiaā€™s capital after two people were injured in an attack on an LGBT club.

An attack released tear gas into the Super Super nightclub located in the Trnje neighbourhood of the countryā€™s capital, Zagreb.

Two people suffered minor injuries in the attack, and several others were injured as people panicked to get out of the venue.

A thousand protest after two injured in attack on LGBT nightclub in Croatia

Now around a thousand people have taken to the streets of Zagreb with rainbow flags and other Prideful messages to ā€œprotest against hatred and violenceā€.

The demonstration was organised by the Zagreb Pride group, which called the attack a ā€œbrutal and barbarian attack on human lives.ā€

The conservative government in a statement said it would ā€œfirmly oppose any form of violence and hate speech, as well as radical, religious and gender discrimination.ā€

Banners read that ā€œwe donā€™t tolerate intoleranceā€, and ā€œwe are unstoppableā€.

Speaking to AFP, one 60-year-old man Boris Kladar said: ā€œThere are fears of societyā€™s radicalisation.ā€

The Zagreb Pride association has called the crime a direct hate attack on the LGBT community. The group called for authorities to condemn the attack and to catch the perpetrators quickly.

The substance was released into the club at 3.30am, and police since confirmed that they are treating the incident as a criminal investigation.

The group stressed the importance for a ā€œpromptā€ investigation to bring justice for ā€œthis physical assault on citizens and take all appropriate measures in order to ensure peace, security and human rights for LGBT people in Zagreb and Croatia.ā€

A statement said: ā€œOver the past few months, we have been faced with the escalation of hatred in public, spurred by increasingly aggressive and louder discourse of the radical clerical rightwing circles, which is contrary to the constitutional values of Croatia, but which has been met with the tacit approval of the Croatian Government.ā€

The group went on to say the attack ā€œclearly and unequivocally demonstrated how thin the line is between hatred and violenceā€ and warned about the governments ā€œunresponsivenessā€.

The decision to stand strong in light of the attack was reaffirmed, and the group concluded the statement by pleading government officials to prove that ā€œhatred and violenceā€ are not Croatian values.

ā€œWe will persist in the fight for human rights and will not be silenced by tear gas.

ā€œWe urge Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, interior Minister Vlaho Orepić and the government to resolutely, loudly and clearly condemn this act of violence and hate crime directed against human rights of LGBT persons, citizens of the Republic of Croatia, and thereby show that hatred and violence are not the values of our society.ā€