Good evening. Here is theWednesday, February 7 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Possible inter-state complaint in case of Slovak national's death
The video footage that shows the death of Slovak Jozef Chovanec was published by Het Laatste Nieuws on August 19, 2020. (source: TSS/YouTube/Facebook)
The Slovak Justice Ministry is seriously concerned about the course of the proceedings clarifying the death of Slovak national Jozef Chovanec in Belgium in 2018.
"If the decision to be announced on March 25, 2024, is not an appropriate response to the shortcomings of the investigation we have identified, we will seriously consider filing an inter-state complaint with the European Court of Human Rights," said Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer).
The minister says he respects the independence of the authorities in Belgium, but at the same time stresses there were doubts about the circumstances of Chovanec's death and the subsequent investigation.
"In this case, in our opinion, these doubts still exist," the minister claimed.
Jozef Chovanec (39) was detained on February 23, 2018 at Charleroi airport after a fight with police officers. He was escorted from the plane. Initial media reports suggested that he injured himself while in detention.
However, several Belgian media outlets later published pictures from prison cameras capturing one police officer giving a Nazi salute, while others stood on laughing. Moreover, another police officer knelt on the man’s chest for about 16 minutes. After this Chovanec suffered a heart attack and was transported to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The local authorities were slow to react, which was criticised by both the Slovak and Belgian public.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
BRATISLAVA: The so-called Petržalka Hill - a pile of debris from buildings pulled down to make space for tower blocks - has started to disappear.
BUSINESS: Bratislava may have changed beyond recognition, but some buildings appear stuck in the socialist past, including a small shopping centre in Ružinov.
HISTORY: The last gate of the historic Trnava fortification was finally found.
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FEATURE STORY FOR WEDNESDAY
Putin understands strength
Mikuláš Dzurinda. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
Mikuláš Dzurinda, former Slovak prime minister has become a member of the International Working Group for New European Security Architecture, chaired by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO secretary general, and Andrij Jermak, head of the office of the Ukrainian president.
In an interview, he talks about the end goal of the group, and what his role in it is.
MOVIES FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS
The Kino Lumiere cinema is back
The reconstructed Kino Lumiere. (source: TASR)
After 504 days of reconstruction, the legendary Kino Lumiere cinema is open once again, becoming a state-of-the-art venue both artistically and technologically. Come and celebrate the opening with screenings of movies. Starting today, the selection includes The Bastard starring Mads Mikkelsen, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, and Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron.
Find out more about the programme, tickets here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Environmental NGOs are concerned about both developments at the Environment Ministry and activities at other ministries. According to them, the current government has presented bills which will put the country's system of environmental protection under threat. They also consider the manner in which personnel changes at ministries are being made to be alarming. (TASR)
Robert Fico's advisers include several anti-system figures. These include judge David Lindtner, who previously had to resign over communications with mobster Marian Kočner; Artur Bekmatov, who is known to spread pro-Russian propaganda and used to work for conspiracy websites; Dalibor Juraško, a reporter for a disinformation website who believes NGOs have anti-Slovak interests; and Eduard Chmelár, who is notorious for anti-NATO and anti-American sentiments. (Hospodárske Noviny)
Once again, people gathered in front of the Parliament building to protest against the government on Wednesday, February 7. (source: TASR)
The Slovak Constitutional Court rejected former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš's complaint concerning his being listed as secret agent for the communist Czechoslovak State Security (ŠtB) secret police. Babiš had appealed against a verdict of the Bratislava Regional Court as well as a ruling by the Slovak Supreme Court. While the former rejected a lawsuit filed against the Slovak National Memory Institute as it could have done nothing in regards to his appearance in the records, the latter rejected a further appeal. Meanwhile the business tycoon and politicians insists that he had nothing to do with the ŠtB. (TASR)
On Wednesday, rocks fell on the I/18 road under the Strečno castle near the town of Žilina, northern Slovakia, damaging the road itself and two cars. No one was hurt in the incident. The maximum speed on the road will be temporarily decreased and the Žilina District Office will consider declaring an emergency situation. (TASR)
A damaged road due to fallen rocks. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY
Expect mostly overcast and rainy weather throughout the day, with daytime temperatures rising to between 8 °C and 14 °C, or 2 °C and 8 °C in the Žilina Region. A level 2 wind warning applies to mountain ranges in the northern part of central Slovakia, and level 1 ground ice in the northernmost districts; see the map. (SHMÚ)
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