Bratislava
Richard Muller faces charges of drug promotion
Slovak pop-singer Richard Muller was accused of the illegal promotion of drugs on March 27 by the Bratislava District I Court for comments he made in a March 6 interview with TV Markíza, as well as in an interview with the weekly magazine Plus 7 Dni.
Representatives of the District Investigation Office said that charges had been laid against the famous musician because it had been determined that the "spirit" of Müller's interviews had encouraged drug use. If found guilty, Müller could face up to five years in prison.
During the March 6 TV Markíza interview, Müller said that several of his songs had been written while under the influence of drugs. "Anyone who says that drugs are a priori a bad thing has never tried them," he said on-air. TV Markíza has since drawn criticism for showing the Müller interview. The daily newspaper Pravda accused the television station of being irresponsible in allowing air-time to the "sick" and "drug-dependent" Müller who has "no control over what he says."
Martin
Mein Kampf to be used only for scientific purposes
Jarmila Majerová, the head of the Slovak National Library centre in Martin, said on March 24 that the library's archives included a 1936 Czech translation of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, and other "similar documents." In order to borrow the book, she said, visitors must be over 16 years of age and must prove that the book will be used for "scientific purposes" officially approved by the Slovak Academy of Sciences or other educational institutions. "We pay close attention to the lending of such books," she said.
A new and controversial verbatim translation of the book into Czech was recently introduced onto the Czech market.The Czech Anti-Fascist Union as well as the Jewish community protested the book's release, saying that it promoted anti-Semitism. Publisher Michal Zitko refuted the accusation, saying that the book was a historical study guide.
Compiled by Chris Togneri from SITA and TASR
