Slovakia, like Bulgaria and Romania, has been marked by protests against government interference in the justice system and the erosion of the rule of law, Reuters reports.
The protests took place on the 16th of December in the capital Bratislava’s central square and in eight other cities across the country. The protest was organized by the main opposition party Progressive Slovakia after the government led by left-wing nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico pushed through parliament a law that would close the whistleblower office and change the way the state protects witnesses.
The party’s leader, Michal Simecka, told protesters in Bratislava that the government had “used a saw against the rule of law.”
The demonstrators carried Slovak and European Union flags and chanted slogans such as “Fico’s government is helping the mafia,” “Enough Fico!” and “Shame.”
The Fico administration has said that the whistleblower office was compromised by political influence. The government has also reduced the expected punishment for financial crimes, reorganized the public broadcaster, and passed laws that allow for the circumvention of some EU laws. This has drawn increased attention from the European Commission.
Fico’s government has faced several protests since coming to power in 2023. The demonstrations were the largest since February, when tens of thousands of Slovaks protested against a shift in foreign policy toward closer ties with Russia.
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Protests in Slovakia as government threatens rule of law
