In response to a crackdown on media freedom, a coalition of NGOs including GONG (a Coalition member), Center for Peace Studies, Human Rights House Zagreb, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and Blueprint for Free Speech have launched a public campaign to defend freedom of expression. Public funding for certain non-profit media and NGOs is expected to be dramatically cut, the government has meddled in media staffing and programing decisions, and the Expert Committee for Non-Profit Media has been disbanded.

The main target of the NGOs’ campaign is newly appointed Culture Minister Zlatko Hasanbegović, who has been linked to a range of neo-Nazi organizations and publications. Hasanbegović reportedly has defended Ustaše, a fascist group that killed hundreds of thousands of Jews, Roma, Serbs and others during World War II. More than 3,500 artists, cultural workers and citizens have signed a public appeal calling for Hasanbegović’s dismissal.

Concerns about threats to media freedom in Croatia were aired in April 2016, when ambassadors from Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, the UK and US met to discuss the issue.