The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Tuesday condemned the "threats made against Morski.HR portal editor Jurica Gaspar", described as "scandalous" a meeting between private shipowners and the owner of a PR agency, and expects the police to probe the threats and to arrest those responsible.

The HND said Morski.HR reported on Sunday that after a working meeting where the Croatian Association of Private Shipowners was arranging a deal with Ankica Mamic’s PR agency, a message appeared in the WhatsApp group “Shipowners in the Adriatic” that called for “kidnapping” Gaspar.

The HND added that “some members of the shipowners’ group suggested raising money for this in their internal communication.”

The president of the Croatian Association of Private Shipowners, Arsen Ercegovic, condemned these messages, according to the HND.

The HND said the threat against Gaspar is “part of the scandal” reported by Morski.HR on Sunday under the headline “Shipowners hire PR expert for 100,000 euros: We will crush Morski.HR, we would also block the Split port, but… don’t worry, I’m good with Glavina and Bacic.”

Tonči Glavina is the minister of tourism and Branko Bačić the minister of construction.

The article also included an audio recording of the meeting between the shipowners’ association and the PR agency led by Mamic.

“Particularly unacceptable to the HND is the part of the conversation, which all participants consented to be recorded, where Ankica Mamic talks about ‘polishing’ the shipowners’ image, creating content, and how this content will be presented to the media and ministries,” the HND said.