Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák said at a press conference on July 14 that the police have identified the three most aggressive Chinese "men in black" who attacked Slovak human rights activists in front of the Presidential Palace in Bratislava during a protest in June prior to the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Slovakia, the SITA newswire reported.
The minister reported that the identified persons were Chinese businessmen X.J., A.Y. and S.L., all of whom were granted Slovak citizenship between 2002 and 2006. One of these men heads several Chinese organizations in Slovakia.
Regarding collaboration of these men with Chinese secret services, Kaliňák said that Slovak citizenship is conditioned upon screening by Slovakia's intelligence service, the SIS, as well as additional scrutiny by Slovakia's security authorities. He said it would be surprising if these men were granted citizenship in the Slovak Republic if they were in touch with security services of other states.
The minister accused Ondrej Dostál of the Conservative Institute, as a deputy chairman of the Civic Conservative Party, of constantly complaining about the steps taken by the Slovak police and the investigation of the incident. The minister noted that the police are still dealing with the case so details will not be made public before closure of the investigation.
Clashes among protesters and supporters of the Chinese president took place on the first day of the visit of Hu Jintao to the Slovak capital, on June 18, as Slovak protesters tried to unfold banners designed to draw attention to human rights breaches in China. They were attacked by supporters of the
Chinese president, dressed in black suits. The police ignored the protesters' calls for help but later detained nine people, SITA wrote.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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