Journalists gathered in front of the government building in Zagreb booed Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his government. One held banner reading: "If there is no source there is no political problem."
"Plenkovic wants to introduce a law to scare whistleblowers first, but also journalists who write about corruption and crime, at a time when the authorities don't care," journalist Ana Raic Knezevic who attended the protest said.
At a government session held on Wednesday, Plenkovic said the disputed section in the draft criminal law is being introduced to "protect the privacy" of people subject to investigation.
If the information leaked was in the interest of the public, the new law would not be applied, PLenkovic said.
The head of Croatia's Association of Journalists, Hrvoje Zovko, told protesters that by introducing the law, Plenkovic and his government wanted to fend off any kind of criticism.
"This is the law of dangerous intentions. We demand that this article is abolished," Zovko told the crowd.
According to the draft law, police, prosecutors, judges or any officials leaking information about police investigations could be jailed for up to three years.
The Association of Journalists says that journalists reporting the leaked information could be part of the investigation and their emails, phones and notes could be seized once the law is applied.
The draft law has yet to be adopted by parliament in which the government coalition led by Plenkovic's Croatian Democratic Union has a majority.
Plenkovic's four-year term expires this year, and the date for a parliamentary vote is expected to be set for end-September at the latest.
(Reporting by Antonio Bronic; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Nick Macfie)
