The report dealing with issues of democratic freedoms says that the most important media outlet. Croatian Radio Television (HRT), is still under substantial political control, despite long-running efforts to transform it into a European-style public-service broadcaster.
Journalistic freedom also remains weak, the report says and adds that according to a 2003 survey, half of the journalists questioned claimed that they do not feel free in their work.
The Penal Code still allows for prison sentences for journalists found guilty of "defamation" and libel, says the report.
Respect for freedom of religion has increased in Croatia in the post-Tudjman period, although ethnic and religious minorities enjoy these rights to a significantly lesser degree than ethnic Croats, the report says.
"Croatia's judicial system suffers from numerous problems, including a large number of judicial vacancies and shortage of experienced judges, both of which have led to a huge backlogs (estimated at 1.4 million in 2003), excessive trial lenghts, and a lack of enforcement of judicial decisions, especially in cases relating to repossession of property owned by Serbs," the report says.
"The judicial system also faces considerable intimidation in the always difficult field of war crimes prosecutions," Freedom House said in its report on Croatia.
Prison conditions generally meet acceptable international standards and the police are considered to act professionally, the report says.
However, there are reports that police threat ethnic minorities more harshly than they do ethnic Croatians.