Slovakia: Thousands protest against judicial reforms by left-wing national government From love for a serial killer to Josef Fritzl’s criminal lawyer

Thousands of people demonstrated in Slovakia against the government of left-wing nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has been in power since the end of October. Citizens took to the streets in the capital Bratislava, Kosice in the east of the country and in thirteen other cities on Thursday evening, news channel TA3 reported on Thursday.

The protest, organized by three opposition parties, was primarily aimed at the planned abolition of the USP Special Prosecutor’s Office, which is responsible for organized crime and political crimes. Fico’s government wants to end the prosecution because it is too ‘politicized’.

After a coalition of Fico opponents won the 2020 parliamentary elections, ex-politician Daniel Lipsic, who belongs to this camp, became boss of the USP through controversial legal changes. Fico and his party accused him of abusing the special prosecutor’s office to “destroy” the opposition’s transitional Social Democrats.

Now that they are back in power, the Social Democrats want not only to depose Lipsic, but also to dissolve the entire authority. The opposition therefore warns of a threat to the rule of law and accuses the government of trying to cover up high-profile corruption cases from previous periods in government of the Fico party.

Protesters on Thursday carried banners with slogans such as “Stop Fico!” and “Fico to Jail!” and “You can’t do everything,” but also calls for the election of liberal former Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok. Polls show him as the most promising opposition candidate in March’s presidential elections.

(hah/sda/dpa)