Lawyer Martin Landl (source: Jozef Mikuš)
Police in southern Slovakia have opened two criminal investigations after a lawyer and civic activist was attacked during town celebrations in Lučenec, amid allegations that officers failed to act promptly – and may even have fraternised with the assailants.
Martin Landl, a local lawyer active in civic initiatives, was assaulted on 21 August during the Lučenec Town Days festivities after confronting a group of men giving fascist salutes and invoking Adolf Hitler. The incident took place shortly after a commemorative event marking the anniversary of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Confrontation with extremists
According to Landl, when he challenged the group in the town’s central square, two men threatened him before bystanders intervened. He later told the Slovak daily Denník N that the men claimed affiliation with Brat za Brata (“Brother for Brother”), a pro-Russian extremist network with roots in the Night Wolves biker gang and known links to Moscow. Earlier this year, the group called on supporters to prepare for the “cleansing of Slovakia”.
When police arrived, Landl alleged that one municipal officer – not from the national police – shook hands with the most aggressive attacker. He said that when he attempted to photograph the suspects, who had not been immediately identified, two men punched him in front of officers. Police intervened only after this.
Police denial and official response
The Banská Bystrica Regional Police Directorate, a branch of the national force, has rejected claims of misconduct. Spokeswoman Mária Faltániová said officers “acted professionally, objectively and in accordance with the law”, and denied there had been any physical contact or handshakes with those involved. She confirmed, however, that an internal review into the conduct of the officers had been launched.
Prosecutors have since opened two criminal cases: one for disorderly conduct and another for expressing sympathy for a movement aimed at suppressing fundamental rights and freedoms. Several individuals identified at the scene have since given statements.
The Lučenec town council strongly condemned the violence. “The town of Lučenec distances itself from any manifestations of fascism, extremism and hatred. Fascism has no place in a modern, democratic society,” said council spokeswoman Michaela Baboľová, adding that the municipality supported a full investigation into both the incident and the police response.
The case has also drawn national attention. Slovakia’s interior minister, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, said he condemned all forms of extremism and called for the town authorities to investigate allegations of improper conduct by municipal police.
Video threats from extremist leader
In a further escalation, Brat za Brata’s leader, Matúš Alexa, released a video denying his group’s involvement in the assault but issuing apparent threats against both Landl and Denník N journalist Daniel Vražda, who reported on the incident. “Remember, none of us will ever flee the battlefield. So even the one who gave you this information, and you, the one who wrote it – if you had had a real encounter with Brother for Brother, you would certainly not be in a position now to write such nonsense. And interpret it however you like: this is not a threat, but a statement of fact,” Alexa said. He has longstanding ties to Russian nationalist networks and has been photographed with senior figures in Moscow, including Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service.
The biker group’s main activities involve rides to war memorials dedicated to fallen soldiers of the First and Second World Wars. The group has also faced accusations of intimidation. In 2022, it published a photograph of the mayor of Ladomirová after the Russian embassy falsely claimed that a nearby cemetery for soldiers had been destroyed. In another case, Alexa warned councillors in Košice that if they removed a Soviet-era memorial, they should expect retaliation, asking whether they would like to see the graves of their own relatives desecrated.
In March this year, members visited the Presidential Palace in Bratislava to deliver signatures on a petition calling for the abolition of sanctions against Russia.
Slovak media watchdogs and press freedom organisations have condemned Alexa’s latest video as an attempt to intimidate journalists. Lukáš Fila, director of Denník N’s parent company, said the publisher would file a criminal complaint.
