Present at the subcommittee session on Wednesday were the head of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights, Furio Radin, the head of the Gender Equality Committee, Gordana Sobol, and Ljubica Matijevic Vrsaljko.
Radin called Vrsaljko to withdraw her resignation saying it was a complicated case which impinged upon interpersonal relation and threatened to turn into a scandal.
"If we allow a parliamentary debate about this case, it will turn into a scandal which will derogate the entire system," Radin said.
Radin positively assessed the Ombudswoman's work so far stressing, however, that the latest developments had lessened the credibility of her office.
Vrsaljko once again told the members of the committee why she and her two assistants had submitted their resignations and requested the support of the Croatian parliament. She said they were resigning due to health reasons, the non-functioning of the children protection system, the decision not to suspend deputy state prosecutor Bozica Cvjetko after the Brezovica child abuse case and death threats sent to her because of the actions she took after three children had been raped.
"These threats are not directed against me, but against the institution of the Children's Ombudswoman," Vrsaljko said and asked how could she be expected to do her job when she was prevented to participate in the solving of such cases.