The Croatian P.E.N Centre on Wednesday condemned the numerous and increasingly frequent death threats to writer and journalist Boris Dezulovic whose life and livelihood, according to the NGO, are now threatened over a column he recently wrote about Vukovar.

“Regardless of what you may think about the article or how you may perceive it (…), the atmosphere of fear and calling for a public lynching campaign over something said are unacceptable in a free country,” read a statement issued by the NGO.

After publishing his article entitled headlined “F*ck Vukovar” on the N1 broadcaster’s website on 2 November, which has been publicly condemned by veterans’ associations as well as the Veterans’ Ministry, Dezulovic received numerous threats on social media.

The Interior Ministry has confirmed police are investigating the threats.

The Croatian Writers’ Association and the Croatian Journalists’ Association backed Dezulovic, stressing that he is a victim of an institutionalised lynching campaign over an article in which he raised the issue of using victims of Vukovar for political purposes.