Respect for the rule of law is a very important issue here and the conduct of the authorities in the case was unacceptable, Frank told reporters at his residence in Zagreb.
The Croatian police last week arrested a 57-year-old man from Bilaj on suspicion of raping on April 13 a 28-year-old US basketball player of the Gospic-Industrogradnja women's basketball club.
The player accused the man, identified as J. M., of having knocked on the door of her hotel
room in broad daylight and raping her.
Ambassador Frank last week met Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt and the state secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, Ivica Buconjic, to discuss the case. He told reporters that he had conveyed to the Croatian officials dissatisfaction with the treatment of the US basketball player by the Gospic police, especially with the fact that they made public her name, medical data and a detailed description of the rape.
Frank confirmed that the allegedly raped player had contacted the US Embassy on her own.
The US Embassy has the duty to protect US citizens abroad and any US ambassador anywhere in the world would have acted following the same procedure, Frank said, adding that according to his information the US media did not report about the case.
Commenting on the coverage of the case by the Croatian media, the US ambassador said that some media should not have revealed the victim's medical findings and identity despite the fact that the police had done it. However, he added that the media had played an important role in uncovering the incident and focused on the most important issue, respect for the rule of law and the position of women in society.
Frank said that the basketball player, who left Croatia shortly after the incident, was willing to return to provide evidence against the suspect and testify in a court of law. He said it was positive that the case had been transferred from the prosecutor's office in Gospic to the prosecutor's office in Rijeka and expressed hope for a fair investigation and trial.