Slovakia’s governing party Smer has reignited a long-running battle over the country’s Specialised Criminal Court, with senior ministers suggesting the institution could be abolished. The move comes after the court’s handling of a high-profile case against a far-right conspiracy theorist with links to the ruling party.
Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák, a key ally of prime minister Robert Fico, questioned on Sunday, 28 September, whether the court had a future. Speaking on television, he accused judges of bowing to media pressure in the pre-trial detention of extremist influencer Daniel Bombic, a man prosecutors have charged with hate speech, extremism and online harassment.
Bombic, one of Slovakia’s most prominent disinformation figures, built a following of more than 80,000 subscribers on YouTube, where he railed against migrants, “global elites” and Jewish organisations. From exile in London, while wanted on international arrest warrants, he frequently streamed interviews with Smer politicians, including Fico and Kaliňák, before the party returned to power in 2023.
Since being extradited earlier this year, Bombic has been in custody awaiting trial. In messages from prison he has directly appealed to Kaliňák and other government figures to intervene in his case, at times hinting at betrayal by the very party he once promoted.
