Jeremy Hill with his daughter in Texas. (source: Arc)
Good evening. Here is the Thursday, January 26 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Chief prosecutor Žilinka slammed for unprecedented letters
Elite prosecutors of the Special Prosecutor's Office at their press conference on January 25, 2023 in Bratislava. (source: TASR - Michal Svítok)
Five elite prosecutors of the Special Prosecutor's Office have criticised their head, Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka, for very often applying the disputed Paragraph 363 in high-profile cases.
Politicians and experts have repeatedly raised the same concern.
In addition, the prosecutors have cited several letters that the Prosecutor General's Office sent to courts in an effort to stop indictments filed by elite prosecutors. They call it unprecedented.
Paragraph 363: President Zuzana Čaputová has challenged the wording of Paragraph 363 at the Constitutional Court. She said on Thursday that the current wording of the paragraph and the powers of the prosecutor general disproportionately interfere with the independence of the judiciary. She added that decisions based on the paragraph cannot be reviewed.
Latest use: The prosecutor general recently used the paragraph to cancel an indictment against Sme Rodina MP Martin Borguľa. Last November Žilinka scrapped charges against ex-PM and Smer chair Robert Fico.
Other stories from The Slovak Spectator website
Travel: CNN has posted a blog about Bratislava's architecture, calling the Slovak capital a "sci-fi city".
Cars: Drivers will have to pay a higher car registration fee from April. How much will you pay?
Shopping: The Slovak Trade Inspection has published a list of online shops to be cautious about.
FEATURE STORY FOR THURSDAY
An American married a Slovak in Las Vegas. Now they live outside Trenčín
Jeremy Hill shows people around Trenčín during a fjúžn walk in 2021 (source: Fjúžn Festival)
Jeremy Hill is an English teacher who lives near Trenčín. He is also behind the "Na Slovensku Aj Po Anglicky" podcast about foreigners living in Slovakia.
In a few lines:
The shortage of some medicines in pharmacies could be remedied in March. Antibiotics and medicines for reducing temperature and pain are missing in particular, the Health Ministry and the State Institute for Drug Control said.
In the future, the Trenčín-based Letecké Opravovne company will participate in the maintenance of components for the Slovak F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft and the introduction of a logistics information system, the Defence Ministry announced. Slovakia bought US fighter jets in 2018 and the first should arrive in 2024.
Ukraine is interested in purchasing another fourteen Zuzana 2 howitzers, the Defence Ministry said. Ukraine bought eight howitzers from Slovakia last year.
Relocation of the statue that is part of the Monument to the Liberators in Trnava on January 25, 2023. The square where the monument stands is undergoing renovation. (source: TASR - Lukáš Grinaj)
WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy, foggy in some places. Light snow or drizzle. Daily temperature will reach 0°C to 5°C, -3 °C in some places of northern Slovakia. Light wind. Fog and black ice warnings are in place until Friday noon.
Thank you for reading The Slovak Spectator.
P.S. If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
