"All verdicts that were passed after changes were made to the Penal Code must be in line with those changes: a reporter must not be prosecuted for defamation because defamation in journalism has been de facto decriminalised," the Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
A reporter is not committing a punishable act even if he/she publishes slanderous content, except in case when it is proven that the sole intention was to damage somebody's reputation.
The Split County Court recently confirmed last year's verdict of the Split Municipal Court which sentenced reporter Ljubica Letinic to two months in prison and one year of probation for defaming a businessman from Split in a report that was broadcast on the national television in 2002.
Apart from the Croatian Journalists' Association, the Reporters Without Borders association and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Croatia have voiced concern about the verdict and warned that slander should be decriminalised.