"Looking for workers of certain skin color, ethnicity, or nationality isn't just poor taste and bad manners but also against the law," Ombudswoman Tena Simonovic-Einwalter on Wednesday said, commenting on a widely publicized case of a pizza restaurant in Samobor which posted a job ad on Facebook in which they said they weren't interested in hiring "Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, or Serbs."

“The ad constitutes explicit discrimination in employment, which is prohibited by law,” Simonovic-Einwalter said in a statement, adding that “in Croatia, protection against racial or ethnic discrimination is guaranteed by the constitution, international treaties, European Union law and national legislation, notably the Anti-Discrimination Act.”

“In this particular case it is irrelevant whether the owner refused to hire a qualified person just because of these characteristics, because his statement might discourage other candidates from applying, which would obstruct their access to the labor market,” Simonovic-Einwalter said.

The case has drawn condemnation from local politicians and professional organizations, and the police are treating it as hate speech.