SaS MPs File Disciplinary Motion against SIS Director Pavol Gaspar

Bratislava, 11 December (TASR) – MPs of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party have filed a motion for disciplinary proceedings against director of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) Pavol Gaspar over suspicions of workplace bullying and regarding his recent traffic accident, TASR learnt on Thursday. "SIS doesn't protect our security. It doesn't cooperate properly with the partners that we vitally need in the EU and NATO. The suspicions we have raised are now clearly echoed by people working inside SIS," said MP Maria Kolikova (SaS) at a press conference. The party again called on President Peter Pellegrini to take action against the SIS chief. MP Juraj Krupa (SaS) expressed concern that the intelligence service may be misusing its technical tools under the pretext of monitoring "extreme liberalism." "Anyone who joins protests or disagrees in any way with this governing coalition can be labelled as an extreme liberal, which effectively allows the Slovak Information Service to monitor these individuals," he stated. Former head of the SIS National Security Analytical Centre Juraj Kulik described for the media alleged bullying practices within the service. Several opposition MPs have also received an anonymous letter claiming that the service's focus changed after Gaspar took office. Among other matters, the alleged SIS employees describe how Gaspar's leadership reduced work on Russian intelligence activities and shifted attention to those of allied states. The House committee for supervising SIS has also addressed the situation, and opposition MPs fear potential wiretapping, pointing to the case of MP Krupa, who, according to their information, was allegedly wiretapped in the past. Opposition committee members plan to conduct an inspection directly on SIS premises in January, although the committee as a whole rejected the plan. Gaspar denies bullying and the changes described in the letter. He said that SIS itself is requesting that the accusations should be investigated and has filed criminal complaints. He added that the matter will be decided by the relevant authorities or the courts. Coalition MPs stated after Gaspar's hearing that the allegations were untrue. mf/df