Europe of Council Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic on Tuesday tweeted that the arrest and fine of Croatian reporter Gordan Duhacek was "pure intimidation of the press", and called on Croatian authorities to protect media freedom and avoid undue pressure on the journalists.

“The arrest and fine of Croatian journalist Gordan Duhacek for his posts on Twitter amount to pure intimidation of the press. I call on Croatia’s authorities to protect media freedom and avoid undue pressure on journalists,” Mijatovic tweeted.

Gordan Duhacek, a reporter for the Index web portal, was detained at Zagreb airport on Monday morning for ignoring a police summons to report for questioning over alleged public order offences, Zagreb police said.

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic on Tuesday said that he had asked the police chief to provide him with a report on the Duhacek’s arrest and denied claims that the government was restricting media freedoms and that it was intimidating journalists.

The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) and the Gong NGO had earlier condemned the way the police acted toward Duhacek.