The Council believes that the indictments constitute a flagrant violation of freedom of the press and an attack on the foundations of democracy in Croatia, as well as that the highest bodies of state authority have failed to react appropriately to them.
"We believe that a parliamentary debate is necessary and that postponing it would harm Croatia's reputation and interests in the long run," the Council says in the letter.
The Council claims that the reporters are being denied basic human and professional rights, including the right to life, because one of them has gone on a hunger strike.
The Council notes that the prominent international association "Reporters Without Borders" has expressed concern with the Hague tribunal's Registrar over the announced trial of Croatian reporters, calling it a dangerous precedent.
The association goes on to say that the case has drawn numerous reactions, both in the press and state bodies of developed democracies, and adds that the Croatian-American Society would suggest that the US Congress's Committee on International Relations discuss the indictments.
In April this year, the Croatian Cultural Council opposed the indictments against Ivica Marijacic, Stjepan Seselj, Domagoj Margetic and retired general Markica Rebic, who were charged with contempt of court, stating that the indictments were in violation of media freedoms.
The Council was established in March this year and it has some 800 members, including scholars, politicians, cultural and various public figures.