(ZAGREB) - The European Commission urged Croatian authorities Thursday to find and prosecute those responsible for a violent attack on a local journalist.

Dusan Miljus, a journalist with one of Croatia's leading dailies, Jutarnji List, was severely beaten with a metal bat in front of his Zagreb home in early June. He was hospitalised with a broken arm, brain concussion and facial injuries.

After being released from hospital, the 47-year-old was given full police protection.

The Commission's delegation here condemned the attack and called on the relevant authorities "to undertake all efforts to identify and prosecute those responsible for this and other attempts to stifle the free media through threats and intimidation."

Croatia hopes to join the European Union by the end of the decade.

Miljus has reported on organised crime for two decades and recently wrote a series of articles on links between Balkans arms smugglers.

The Croatian Journalists' Association said he had received fresh threats on Wednesday.

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