A new bill in Croatia has been proposed by the ruling HDZ party and aims to amend the criminal code to introduce a prison sentence of up to three years for leaks from judicial investigations. The bill was criticized by opposition MPs from the party Mošemo! party on Sunday, who argued that the new bill allows for surveillance.

“Although the bill includes an exemption for journalists, investigating such offenses requires evidence – which means it allows wiretapping, but also the seizure of any mobile phones or computers [από τους ερευνητές]MP Ursa Raukar-Gamulin said at a press event, as reported by Hina.

The bill was expected to be voted on in the new session of parliament by the ruling majority led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s HDZ. It will introduce criminal liability for anyone who leaks confidential investigative information to the press – although its provisions will not apply to the media themselves.

The bill comes after a series of major and minor corruption scandals and investigations involving members of the HDZ party, with local media putting the number of cabinet resignations and dismissals at more than 30 since Plenkovic took office in 2016.

“There are people in the system who refuse to shut up about cover-ups during investigations [για διαφθορά] and report them to the media in the public interest,” Raukar-Gamulin added.

The bill also comes ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections this year, although the exact date of the vote has yet to be determined. According to local media speculation, the most likely dates are either April-May or September this year.

The small green-left party Mošemo! (“We can!”) currently has only four MPs in the 151-seat parliament. According to the latest polls published by Nova TV in December, it is currently fifth, with 6.8% of the vote. The ruling HDZ (EPP) appears to have an undisputed lead with 28.2%, followed by the social democratic party SDP (S&D) with 12.9%.

“We don’t have a majority in parliament, so we can’t block the passage of this bill,” said party leader Sandra Bencic, adding that the bill violates “rights and standards we have achieved by joining the European Union” and calling the media and civil society to vocally oppose the bill.

The National Union of Journalists HND also blasted the bill on Friday (12 January), with its head Hrvoje Zovko saying the bill has “dangerous intentions” and that the move amounts to “a blow to both journalism as a profession and public interest’, as it is believed that the law will likely make confidential sources afraid to speak to the press.