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Slovaks took to the streets on Thursday evening in the capital Bratislava, Košice in the east of the country and 13 other cities, the news channel “TA3” reported.
Protesters held signs reading “Stop Fico” and “Go to Jail for Fico!” and “Not everything is possible”.
There were also slogans in support of former Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok, who according to opinion polls has the best chance among opposition candidates in the upcoming presidential elections in May.
The protests organized by the three opposition parties were directed against the planned dissolution of the USP public prosecutor’s office for special cases. The USP is responsible for investigating organized crime and political crimes, but the Fico government considers it too “politicized” and wants to disband it. Special prosecutor cases are expected to be taken over by regional prosecutors’ offices, which have not dealt with such crimes, including organized crime and extremism, for 20 years.
Following the victory of Fico’s opposition coalition in the 2020 parliamentary elections, coalition-supporting ex-politician Daniel Lipšić became head of the USP following the adoption of controversial legal changes. Fico and his left-wing populist Smer party accused Lipsitz of abusing the public prosecutor’s special investigations to “destroy” the Smer party, which was briefly in opposition in parliament.
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