Opposition Protests Take Place in Bratislava and Other Cities

Bratislava, 16 December (TASR) - Protests are taking place in Bratislava, Kosice, Banska Bystrica and other Slovak cities on Tuesday evening. The protesters aim to express dissatisfaction with the latest steps taken by the governing coalition, such as the adoption of an amendment to the Criminal Code, changes to the Criminal Procedure Code, and the transformation of the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers into a new authority. The rallies are organised by the opposition's Progressive Slovakia together with other opposition parties, the Christian Democratic Movement, Freedom and Solidarity, and the extra-parliamentary Democrats. Speeches were delivered also by representatives of the 'For the People' party, and chair of the extra-parliamentary Hungarian Alliance Laszlo Gubik. "Robert Fico and his government are pushing Slovakia towards a mafia-style governance. Right now is the moment when we as a society must exert maximum pressure and clearly say that we will not tolerate the abduction of the state," said Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Simecka. "And today, together and loudly, we will call on President Peter Pellegrini to use his powers, veto the shameful changes to the Criminal Code and return them to Parliament," he added. The opposition criticises the fact that substantial changes were added at the last minute to the amendment to the Criminal Code, which was originally intended to address the problem of minor theft. For example, the definition of the criminal offence of obstructing an election campaign is to be extended to include cooperation with a "foreign power", and criminal liability is also being introduced "for denying or questioning post-war documents on the arrangement of conditions after the WW2 in Slovakia". The Criminal Procedure Code also amends the institute of cooperating accused persons. The coalition claimed the changes are justified because, in their view, free political competition during the 2023 parliamentary elections was influenced from abroad [the British government financed a campaign to bolster election turnout among young voters —ed.note]. According to coalition MPs, the institute of cooperating defendants was misused in convictions based on their testimonies, which later proved unreliable. Courts, the coalition says, have insufficiently dealt with assessing their credibility. In transforming the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers into a new authority, the coalition declares that it is restoring justice to the whistleblower protection system. According to it, the office will no longer be able to be misused to shield selected individuals or to avoid responsibility. mf