Interior Minister Sutaj Estok Considers PG Zilinka's Statements to Be Misleading

Bratislava, 4 February (TASR) - I consider statements by Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka he made on Wednesday to be inappropriate and misleading, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) posted on social media, adding that instead of looking for solutions, we witnessed public questioning of the Police Corps, which I unequivocally reject. "If the prosecutor-general is serious about his words, he can't describe the state of the fight against corruption as catastrophic in one short speech and at the same time place all the responsibility on the Police Corps," wrote Sutaj Estok. The minister emphasised that it is the prosecutor who is in charge of criminal proceedings and that his subordinate prosecutors have the full right to act in their official capacity whenever they suspect a violation of the law, including in cases of corruption. "It isn't possible to be a full-fledged, even key part of law enforcement bodies and at the same time criticise the results of the fight against crime from the outside," stated the head of the Interior Ministry, adding that Zilinka spoke on Wednesday without verifiable data and without proposing solutions. "If he wants to be a good prosecutor-general, he must actively seek solutions to improve the fight against crime and not shy away from his own responsibility or that of his subordinates," added Sutaj Estok, noting that Zilinka always has an open door with him. The rate of prosecution of corruption in Slovakia has fallen significantly, stated the prosecutor-general at a press conference earlier on Wednesday, adding that not a single corruption offence was uncovered at the highest levels of the state in 2025. This was one of the topics discussed at this week's meeting between Zilinka and Fico. The prime minister expressed his disagreement with the opinion of the Prosecutor-General's Office on the assessment of the fight against corruption in the prepared report on the state of the rule of law. The head of the prosecution service also criticised changes in the Criminal Code and the reorganisation of the Police Corps. am