Women MPs from leftwing and liberal groups have condemned the threats made against Gender Equality Ombudswoman Visnja Ljubicic after she filed a complaint with the State Attorney's Office (DORH) over jeopardising the human rights and lives of the Croatian nationals in Zambia, and called on the state institutions to protect her.

Katica Glamuzina (Social Democrats) told a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday that death threats made against the ombudswoman are totally unacceptable in a society that considers itself modern.

“We are witnessing the degradation and retardation of Croatian society because some individuals and groups are causing catastrophic damage to this society with their actions,” Glamuzina said.

“We hope that all institutions, including DORH and the police, will react as promptly and eagerly as they did when the prime minister was threatened. It seems that the ombudswomen in this country will have to become protected persons in order to be able to do their job unhindered,” she added.

Andreja Marićc (SDP) called on the state institutions to protect the rights of children and families targeted by the harmful and unacceptable public discourse that spreads hatred and intolerance towards others and calls for lynching of children and their adoptive parents.

She said that the government has not done enough to protect them and called for maximum efforts to help those people as well as the adoptive parents and children in Croatia who are also targeted by the lynching campaign.

Ivana Kekin (Green-Left Bloc) stressed the importance of openly opposing hate speech, violence and intimidation. She said that the people using hate speech should be exposed and that such speech should be condemned and sanctioned. She called on the ruling parties to condemn what is going on.

Anka Mrak-Taritas (Centre/GLAS) noted that at a recent meeting of a parliamentary committee politicians too had used hate speech and intolerance for their own political promotion, targeting children of a different race, parents and transgender persons.

Katarina Peovic (Workers’ Front) said that unacceptable and totalitarian ideas were becoming more and more popular in Croatia, adding that some people were promoting hatred of women and a return to patriarchy with prayer and were promoting children’s rights as a front for transphobia.