Slovakia PM Fico in hot water over planned penal code amendments

Thursday’s protests took place in two dozen cities and towns. Demonstrators also rallied in Prague and Brno in the Czech Republic, Krakow in Poland, and Paris.

Protestors took to the streets of Slovakia on Thursday against a plan by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to amend the penal code and eliminate the national prosecutors’ office, which handles serious offenses such as graft, organised crime, and acts of extremism.
The plan approved by Fico’s coalition government will reassign cases usually handled by the special prosecutor’s office to prosecutors in regional offices, who haven’t dealt with such crimes for 20 years.
The proposed changes have faced sharp criticism at home and abroad.
The move also includes a reduction in punishments for corruption and a possible shortening of suspended sentences and the statute of limitations.
“We’re not ready to give up,” Michal Šimečka, the head of Slovakia’s largest opposition party, liberal Progressive Slovakia, said.
“We will step up our pressure,” Šimečka said. ”We will defend justice and freedom in our country,” he said.
“Mafia, mafia” and “Fico mobster,” people chanted.
Earlier Thursday, the ruling coalition voted to use a fast-track parliamentary procedure to approve the changes. That means the draft legislation won’t be reviewed by experts and others usually involved in common legislative procedures.
The coalition also voted to limit the discussion in the first of three parliamentary readings. The opposition condemned the move.
“They decided to silence us in Parliament but they won’t silence you all,” Šimečka said.
The second reading, in which changes could be made to the draft legislation, is expected to take place next Wednesday while the final vote is possible by the end of next week.
President Zuzana Čaputová said the proposed changes jeopardise the rule of law and could cause “unpredictable” damage to society.
The European Parliament also questioned Slovakia’s ability to fight corruption if the changes were adopted. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has said Slovakia’s plans threaten the protection of the EU’s financial interests and its anti-corruption framework.
Čaputová said she is willing to bring a constitutional challenge to the legislation. It’s unclear how the Constitutional Court might rule.
Fico returned to power for the fourth time after his scandal-tainted leftist party won parliamentary elections on 30 September on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform.
A number of people linked to the party face prosecution in corruption scandals.
Fico’s critics worry his return could lead Slovakia to abandon its pro-Western course and instead follow the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.