Croatia: four nurses suspected of aggravated homicide after Zagreb clinic death

The video and the death

A 32-year-old man admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Zagreb in a psychotic state died there on 21 October, according to Croatian reports. The Jutarnji list daily said it had obtained about eight minutes of security camera footage from the Sveti Ivan clinic, in the Jankomir district. The footage shows the patient bound to a hospital bed while staff try to bring him under control. Staff are seen punching his chest, pressing their weight onto his body and holding a pillow over his face. Other workers were present, and reports say they included a doctor. The recording comes from the clinic's closed-circuit system and has since been published online.

Four nurses suspected of aggravated homicide

Four male nurses were arrested in early November on suspicion of aggravated homicide. Prosecutors said the suspects are being investigated for "excessive use of force in violation of medical standards". Authorities are examining the conditions under which the incident occurred and how the violence seen on the video relates to the patient's death. The criminal investigation is still under way, and no court has yet ruled on the responsibility of any suspect.

Government and clinic response

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic called the incident "murder", and the images have prompted wider debate about how psychiatric patients are treated. Health Minister Irena Hrstic said an inspection by the ministry had noted "irregularities" in the case and was continuing. The director of the hospital and its supervisory board have resigned. Reports on the video have drawn attention to the use of physical restraint and force in psychiatric units.

Vigils in Zagreb and other cities

Hundreds of people gathered at noon on Saturday, 14 November, at Cvjetni square in Zagreb, on the initiative of the student collective "Vrijeme za promjene" ("Time for change"). They observed eight minutes of silence, matching the length of the video, then lit candles, laid flowers and applauded, and no speeches were given. Similar memorials were held in Split, Dubrovnik and Osijek, where participants called for the circumstances of the death to be fully investigated and for responsibility to be assigned. The organisers said the gatherings had no political character and were an act of solidarity with the family and an effort to keep the case from being forgotten.

What comes next

The family has announced another memorial gathering on the main square in Zagreb on 21 November, one week after the first rally. The criminal investigation and the health ministry inspection both remain open. The sequence so far runs from the death on 21 October to the arrests in early November, the vigils on 14 November and the planned rally on 21 November.