C.Č.Ž., a Somali national, was granted refugee status in Croatia on 21 December 2016 due to a well-founded fear of persecution by members of the Al-Shabaab group on account of a political opinion imputed to him, arising from his cooperation with the authorities, despite his lack of personal political involvement. His minor son, N.Č.Ž., born in 2013, was granted refugee status on 14 February 2017.

In November 2025, C.Č.Ž. was charged with several offences, including making verbal threats to a neighbour, for which he was arrested on suspicion of an offence under Article 139(2) of the Croatian Criminal Code; disturbing public order by shouting in front of a residential building; and striking another neighbour on the temple with a soft plastic tube, causing her scratches. Due to this last incident, C.Č.Ž. was charged with serious bodily injury under Article 118(2) of the Criminal Code and placed in pre-trial detention.

Following this, the Ministry of the Interior deemed C.Č.Ž. a threat to public order and revoked his refugee status of its own motion, pursuant to Article 50(1)(3) and 50(4) of the International and Temporary Protection Act. This decision was appealed before the Administrative Court in Zagreb on the grounds that it violated the presumption of innocence, since the criminal proceedings were still ongoing and no final judgment had been issued.

The court upheld the appeal and quashed the revocation of international protection. It found that, in both instances, the proceedings were still at the stage of filed criminal complaints and, therefore, the decision breached Article 28 of the Croatian Constitution, which provides that “everyone is presumed innocent and may not be held guilty of a criminal offence until such guilt is proven by a final court judgment”.