The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) said on Tuesday it joined the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) and the Croatian Journalists' Trade Union (SNH) in condemning Glas Istre daily for firing journalists "who openly criticised the paper’s biased editorial policy."

The HND and the SNH described the management’s decision to dismiss the journalists as “scandalous” and “shameful”.

The three reporters who were given extraordinary dismissals, Zoran Angeleski, Danijela Basic-Palkovic and Borka Petrovic, accused in late May the daily’s editor-in-chief, Robert Frank, of trying to influence coverage of the local election campaign to benefit the long-dominant regional Istrian Democratic Party (IDS), the EFJ said.

Daily editor-in-chief Robert Frank has rejected claims that his editorial line favored the IDS, it added.

A fourth journalist who denounced the paper’s bias was not fired as she was protected by maternity leave laws.

Basic-Palkovic said the notice sent to her suggested the reason for her dismissal was that she was “a political activist and promoter of certain political groups,” allegations she has denied.

The journalists have emphasised that they have contacted the paper’s Management Board before their announcements and they had previously requested a meeting on the issue. Journalist Angeleski warned of frequent meetings between the editor-in-chief of Glas Istre and IDS leaders, recently and on the eve of the elections.

The EFJ said that during an HND press conference in Zagreb, HND president Hrvoje Zovko said: “This is not only a problem of our journalistic profession, this is a first-class political problem that is happening in Croatia, and Istria is not as open a region as some boast when it comes to journalism”.

He added that the HND and the SNH support the journalists of Glas Istre and will inform all domestic and foreign institutions about this “unprecedented retaliation”, the EFJ said.

On Saturday, several hundred protesters gathered in Pula in support of the dismissed reporters.

The HND and the SNH have launched a campaign on social networks under the slogan ‘Support the journalists of Glas Istre’ in which other journalists and public figures from across the country are expressing their support through videos or written messages.

The HND and the SNH “sent a letter to the management to withdraw the extraordinary dismissals, as the journalists have not committed any breach of employment obligations. Specifically, the journalists have contacted their superiors before making a public statement as required, and did no damage to the employer by expressing their opinions,” the EFJ said.

It quoted Maja Sever, president of the SNH, as saying: “This case shows how deficient the regulation on local media is. We reiterate the demand to legally change the system of financing local media to ensure their independence from local politicians.”