Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, seen here in June 2008, launched an inquiry Wednesday into the detention and questioning of people from Internet groups who criticised his government.

Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader launched an inquiry Wednesday into the detention and questioning of people from Internet groups who criticised his government.

"I have requested that the interior ministry and head of police provide me a report on recent events and detentions... and undertake adequate sanctions if there were any failures in police conduct," Sanader said in a statement.

"No-one in Croatia can be detained due to having a different opinion, protesting or disagreeing with mine or anyone else's political view.

"As the prime minister, the defence of that freedom is my main task," he stressed.

At the weekend, police in the southern town of Dubrovnik briefly detained and questioned a member of the main opposition Social Democrats who created a Facebook group for people who did not like the prime minister.

The group, named "I bet I can find 5,000 Facebookers who dislike Sanader," currently has around 14,000 members.

Police said they searched the home of Niksa Klecak, 22, and questioned him as his web pages featured doctored images of Sanader dressed in a Nazi outfit.

At the time, Sanader said the move was "not against the prime minister but rather against democracy in Croatia."

Local media reported that earlier this week police questioned two activists of another Facebook group which is calling for anti-government protests to be held in Croatia's main towns, including Zagreb, on Friday.

The group currently has over 58,000 members.

Police action has sparked protests from the opposition as well as independent media, which have described it as repression.

© 2008 AFP