Most of us have done it: a few messages on an app, a cute profile, “want to meet?” That’s ordinary queer life. A case decided in Zagreb this autumn is a reminder of how that ordinary moment can be turned into a trap, and of how a justice system can miss what’s really going on.
The case
On September 1, 2026, the Zagreb Municipal Criminal Court imposed educational measures on eight minors for a series of attacks on men they had lured through Grindr. Croatian outlets including Telegram, Riportal and HypeTV reported the details on September 29. Avaz, citing Jutarnji list, put their ages at 16 to 18.
Here’s what the court established:
- Four attacks in June and July 2025, mainly around Vrbovec, a town east of Zagreb.
- The method: one of the teens posed as an adult on Grindr and arranged a meeting. He walked the man to an isolated spot, such as concrete blocks by a railway line or a local football pitch. The others, dressed in black and hooded, were waiting.
- Planning: the group coordinated times and places on WhatsApp and Snapchat.
- The injuries were serious. One man’s eye socket was fractured and a court expert classed it as serious bodily harm. Another lost consciousness after the first blow and suffered injuries to his eye socket, a tooth and several ribs, and needed surgery with a mesh implant. A third had his lower jaw broken.
- The aftermath: victims told the court they struggle to sleep, are afraid to leave home, or now avoid going out in the evening.
All eight admitted guilt, expressed remorse and apologised. None had a prior record. Four received two months in a disciplinary centre, plus intensified supervision and 30 hours of community work. The other four got intensified supervision and community work. Everyone waived the right to appeal, so the ruling is final.
”Elements of hatred”, but not a hate crime
This is the part that matters for the rest of us.
The victims said they heard no homophobic insults during the attacks, and the court accepted that the motive was financial gain. Even so, the judge wrote in her reasoning that the teens’ behaviour contained elements of hatred, and stressed the need to develop tolerance, HypeTV reported.
Think about how the scheme worked. The group went to a dating app used mainly by gay and bi men, and chose its victims there. To us, choosing victims that way looks like targeting people for who they are, slur or no slur.
Zagreb Pride: this isn’t a one-off
Two weeks later, Zagreb Pride said Croatian police and courts still routinely fail to recognise hate crimes against LGBTIQ people, Glas Slavonije reported on October 11.
- The group has documented 35 violent incidents against LGBTIQ people since 2021.
- In more than half, authorities had problems recognising hate as an aggravating element or classifying the case correctly.
- With the Human Rights House Zagreb, it recently told the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers that attacks are still being classified as misdemeanours against public order, so the hate motive never gets investigated in criminal proceedings.
That committee oversees how countries carry out European Court of Human Rights judgments. One of the cases on its desk is Sabalić v. Croatia. In 2021 the court ruled that Croatia had violated the European Convention after a man who violently attacked a woman in Zagreb for being a lesbian was dealt with in minor-offence proceedings and fined EUR 40, with no investigation of the hate motive. ILGA-Europe said at the time that the response fostered impunity. Zagreb Pride, which supported the case, says the judgment still hasn’t changed how police and courts work.
Croatia has some of the strongest legal protections for LGBTQ+ people in the region. Laws only protect people if police and courts actually use them.
It’s not only Croatia
Dating-app ambushes have shown up across the region. In August, Bulgarian police investigated a possible hate crime after a man died following a beating in Plovdiv. The details differ from case to case, but the warning signs below come up again and again: a profile that isn’t what it seems, pressure to meet fast, and a move to somewhere quiet.
How to meet safely: a practical checklist
None of this means you should stop dating. It means stacking the odds in your favour.
Before you meet
- Video-call first. A short call confirms the person matches the photos and is who they say they are. A real person who’s into you won’t mind.
- Be wary if things move fast. Pressure to meet right away, refusing to call, or a brand-new profile with few details are worth pausing on.
- Tell a friend. Share the profile, the place and the time, and agree on a check-in text.
Choosing the place
- Pick a busy public spot for the first meet: a café, a bar, a lit square. You choose, or agree together.
- Don’t let the location drift. In the Croatian case, men were led on foot to a railway line and a football pitch. If “let’s go somewhere quieter” comes up on a first meeting, that’s your cue to say no and leave.
- Avoid late-night first meetings in places you don’t know.
If something feels off
- Trust your gut and leave. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.
- Keep your phone charged and know how to share your live location quickly.
If you’re attacked
- Get medical care first and ask for your injuries to be documented.
- Screenshot the chat and the profile before they’re deleted, and report the account to the app.
- When you report to police, say so if you believe you were targeted for being LGBTIQ. It changes how the case should be classified.
- Get support. In Croatia, Zagreb Pride offers help with reporting, legal support and representation for anyone who experienced violence because of homophobia or transphobia. Elsewhere in the region, a local LGBTI organisation can help.
Why it matters
The men near Vrbovec did nothing wrong. They used an app millions of queer people use every day. What they deserve, and what the rest of us deserve, is a system that calls an attack like this what it is. Until that happens, look after each other: share the checklist, check in on friends after dates, and believe people when they tell you something happened.
