List of author's articles, page 18
Andrášik hunger strike reaches month
THE HUNGER strike of Milan Andrášik, one of the six men convicted of the 1976 murder of medical student Ľudmila Cervanová, reached a full month on January 19 despite pleas from his family to give up the protest.
Černák lawyer investigated for corrupting judges
THE POLICE have begun an investigation of Ľubomír Samuel, the lawyer defending Slovak organized crime boss Mikuláš Černák, for influencing the courts handling his murder cases.
STV boss cleans house under cabinet gaze
EVER SINCE Radim Hreha took over as director of Slovakia's public television station, STV, last December, media observers have expressed fears the station will quickly lose its independence under the Robert Fico government. In the second week of January, these fears were confirmed in dramatic style.
Cervanová accused return to jail
TWO OF the men found guilty by the Supreme Court on December 4 of raping and murdering medical student Ľudmila Cervanová in 1976, Miloš Kocúr and Milan Andrášik, have returned to jail 15 years after being released from a previous sentence for the same crime.
Two Jewish WWII heroes honoured
AMONG the 18 people decorated by President Ivan Gašparovič on January 1 were two Slovak citizens who on April 6, 1944 became the first prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp to escape and tell the world about the atrocities that were occurring.
Cervanová witnesses break 30-year silence
LESS THAN a week after the Supreme Court confirmed jail sentences for six men accused of raping and murdering young medical student Ľudmila Cervanová in 1976, a pair of witnesses who saw Cervanová getting into a car with men who did not resemble the accused have come forward.cannot be appealed, but were turned away.
New STV director "flattered" by political links to Smer party
THE STV station has a new director - little-known Czech native Radim Hreha - and, according to the media, a new voice for the ruling Smer party in the country's public media.
Cervanová accused head back to jail
THE SUPREME Court handed down a final verdict on December 4 in the 1976 rape and murder of medical student Ľudmila Cervanová, confirming the guilt of six men who have already done time for the crime, and even adding jail time for four of them.
From plaintiff to accused?
"If I was asked to evaluate the state of the Slovak police since 1989, I would have to say that the police today are in the deepest crisis they have ever experienced," said Jozef Šátek, the former head of the Anti-Corruption Unit of the police corps (2004-2005), in an interview with The Slovak Spectator.
Prosecutor's custody request for Valko and Rehák denied
ATTORNEY Ernest Valko and entrepreneur Ladislav Rehák will not be remanded in pre-trial custody while police investigate their alleged extortion of another two individuals, the Bratislava Regional Court ruled on November 27.
Supreme Court to decide Cervanová case
THIRTY YEARS after medical student Ľudmila Cervanová was raped and murdered in Bratislava, the Supreme Court on December 4 is finally to rule definitively on the guilt of the men who have already served time for killing her.
Mečiar defies Fico at coalition council meeting
ON THE SURFACE, the cabinet of Robert Fico is nearing the end of a peaceful first six months in office. The economy grew at a record 9.8 percent in the third quarter, the currency is at a record strength against the euro, and the government is riding a 60 percent approval rating, according to the latest polls.
Police faulted in arrests
THE ARREST and detention of Bratislava attorney Ernest Valko on extortion charges last week has been criticized by Slovak legal professionals as a violation of several laws.
"People want something new"
PAVOL Hagyari, a well-known slovak lawyer, is running as an independent candidate for mayor of the town of Prešov. In the mid 1990's he was the chairman of the now-defunct Democratic Party, but gave up his post and left politics when the party failed to win seats in parliament. He now figures in 20 companies.
Valko, Rehák arrested
THE JAILING of people close to the parties of the political opposition continued on November 15 with the arrest of well-known Bratislava attorney Ernest Valko, the former chief justice of the Czechoslovak Constitutional Court, and entrepreneur Ladislav Rehák, the largest sponsor of the opposition Christian Democrats.
Never a dull moment
MUNICIPAL politics in Slovakia are colourful even by the exotic standards set at the national level. But when citizens go to the polls on December 2 to elect mayors and councilors in 2,926 voting districts, they will have to somehow make sense out of the crazy coalitions, the heavy-handed election strategies and the mixed bag of candidates to choose the people who will decide on matters that touch their lives most intimately for the next four years.
Top businessman and sons charged with extortion
POLICE arrested one of the most influential businessmen in Slovakia, Ladislav Rehák, and his two sons Martin and Juraj on November 7, and held them in custody on suspicion of extortion. As The Slovak Spectator went to print, a court was deciding whether to uphold a motion by the prosecution to remand the three men along with two companions in pre-trial custody.Ladislav Rehák is chairman of the board of Orange, the country's largest mobile operator, and owns or manages
The Nov. 17 revolution - then and now
SEVENTEEN years ago on November 17, the totalitarian system in the former Czechoslovakia began to fall apart. Although the brutal interference of the police with students demonstrating on Václavské Náměstí in Prague led to violence, calm prevailed, and history remembers the occasion as a peaceful transition. Hence the poetic name: the Velvet Revolution.
Bratislava readies for clash of the titans
THERE WAS a time in Slovakia when the prospect of municipal elections would evoke a collective yawn. But that was before a public sector reform gave Slovakia's regions, towns and villages 94 percent of all personal income taxes collected in the country, as well as significant clout over schools, roads and health care.
"We found agreement"
FOLLOWING a press briefing on October 31, at which he delivered his opposition SDKÚ party's response to the resignation of Deputy Agriculture Minister Marin Záhumenský over an apparent conflict of interest (see story on page 1), former Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda gave an interview to The Slovak Spectator in which he said that, despite appearances, the opposition was united and was working together.
- Perk, Trnava: “Stylish, affordable, and seriously tasty” – restaurant review
- News digest: Police linked to Fico gunman video leak – minister accused of cover-up
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Slovakia’s labour market falters as migration policy falls behind EU neighbours
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- Police bosses handed cut-price “luxury” flats in Bratislava
- Cyclists, sausages and a railcar called Hurvínek Photo
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Perk, Trnava: “Stylish, affordable, and seriously tasty” – restaurant review
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- News digest: Police linked to Fico gunman video leak – minister accused of cover-up
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- Slovakia’s labour market falters as migration policy falls behind EU neighbours
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- Perk, Trnava: “Stylish, affordable, and seriously tasty” – restaurant review
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Slovakia’s public finances remain in deep trouble
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- Slovakia mourns Pope Francis, a shepherd of hope and humility Photo
- The British Film Institute shines a light on Slovak cinema’s boldest chapter Video
- “Return not,” the ocean cried. But I returned for her
- Ambulance hit by Russian drone goes on display in centre of Bratislava
- 3 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
- US giant pulls plug on Slovak factory, axing 137 jobs
- Hundreds of people ousted from Bratislava’s Volkswagen
- Bratislava’s embassy-backed events you don’t want to miss
- Perk, Trnava: “Stylish, affordable, and seriously tasty” – restaurant review
- When to shop over Easter: Opening hours for supermarkets in Slovakia
- News digest: Police linked to Fico gunman video leak – minister accused of cover-up
- Police bosses handed cut-price “luxury” flats in Bratislava
- Cyclists, sausages and a railcar called Hurvínek Photo
- Slovakia’s labour market falters as migration policy falls behind EU neighbours
- Remembering the priest-scientist and pioneer of wireless communication
- Perk, Trnava: “Stylish, affordable, and seriously tasty” – restaurant review
- What is Pope Francis’s message to the powerful?
- Slovakia mourns Pope Francis, a shepherd of hope and humility Photo More articles ›
