SaS Submits Complaint with Prosecutor-General over STVR Council Actions

Bratislava, May 5 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party has filed a motion with the Prosecutor-General's Office to review the legality of Slovak Television and Radio Council’s (STVR) procedures for providing public access to its meetings, MP Ondrej Dostal (SaS) announced at a press conference on Monday. The party criticised the fact that individuals not affiliated with the public-broadcaster cannot attend the council meetings in person and that public access is provided only through an online audio stream. SaS wants the prosecutor’s office to verify whether the council is acting in accordance with the law. SaS representatives submitted the motion last week. "We consider the STVR Council's approach in this matter to be unfair, misleading and a case of buck-passing. That's why we've turned to the Prosecutor-General's Office. We're asking for a review of the legality of this approach and for the council to be given notice that it is acting unfairly and unlawfully," said Dostal. The MP explained that although the STVR Act stipulates that council meetings are public, the public was not allowed to attend the April sessions in person. In his view, the concept of a body's public session cannot be equated with a public online audio stream. "In several Slovak laws, the term 'public meeting' is directly linked to it being possible for individuals, including media representatives, to be physically present at such meetings," he said. mf/df