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In the first reading, the Slovak Parliament approved the government’s proposal to change criminal law, which has been criticized by European institutions and against which thousands of people have repeatedly protested in Slovakia. Parliament will make a final decision on the draft after the crucial second reading, which is due to take place at the next sitting next week.
Prime Minister Robert Fico’s cabinet proposes, among other things, to reduce crime rates, for example for corruption and economic crime, to further shorten the statute of limitations for certain crimes and also to abolish the special prosecutor’s office, which also oversees the investigations of cases from Fico’s former ruling party, the Social Democratic Directorate (Direction -SD).
Dozens of people were accused or convicted, for example the accused Směr SD member and former police chief Tibor Gašpar is awaiting trial. According to the opposition, the aim of the changes is to ensure impunity for defendants who have ties to the ruling coalition.
The government justifies efforts to abolish the public prosecutor’s office after about 20 years of existence by saying the institution is biased and cannot be changed. In turn, he defends the reduction of penalties by trying to bring them closer to European levels, which is questioned by some experts. On Thursday, Fico expressed the willingness of the ruling coalition to accept some changes proposed by the Attorney General’s Office or the European Commission, but in his opinion the government insists on the core of the proposal and the abolition of the Prosecutor’s Office.
According to available information, the upcoming changes, including an increase in the amount of damages for a crime from the current 266 euros (6,585 krone) to 700 euros (17,330 krone), will mean that the perpetrators will only have the option of escape, even in cases where: in which they are now threatened with long prison sentences. Due to the statute of limitations, prosecution would have to be stopped in some cases that have not yet been finalized by the courts.
The opposition pointed out that if the bill were passed, there would be lower penalties for certain thefts, accepting bribes, fraud when withdrawing money from European funds or tax fraud. One of the opposition MPs compared existing and new crime rates on a special website.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office said in December that proposed changes to criminal law and justice in Slovakia pose a serious risk of undermining the rule of law. In this context, the European Parliament passed a resolution critical of Slovakia last week.
Slovakia’s parliament accelerated debate on amending the penal code and other laws after government MPs pushed for continued debate on the Cabinet’s request to expedite discussion of the draft. The government majority then limited the duration of the debate in the first reading to 20 hours. This time was divided among the parliamentary clubs in proportion to the number of MPs.
Virtually only the opposition took advantage of the opportunity to speak, which slowed down the course of the Chamber of Deputies’ session due to changes in criminal law since December. This resulted in the special prosecutor’s office not being abolished until mid-January, as advocated by the government, which approved the draft amendment to the relevant laws without a broader technical discussion.
Video: Fico received a well-deserved reward for his pro-Russian rhetoric – a mention in a Russian propaganda program (December 15, 2023)
Fico received a well-deserved reward for his pro-Russian rhetoric – a mention in a Russian propaganda program | Video: Aktuálně.cz
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