The Slovak Information Service. (source: TASR)
After two former heads of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) were charged, foreign intelligence agencies may be reluctant to share information, KATEŘINA HUŠKOVÁ says in an interview with the daily Sme , Czech author of the book Internal Security Forces and Intelligence Services in Central Europe.
They will monitor whether Smer wins the September election and whether Robert Fico becomes PM, she adds.
How does the Czech Republic perceive the case in which two former heads of the SIS and nominees of the Sme Rodina party are suspected of having participated in the discrediting of National Criminal Agency (NAKA) investigators, who were solving corruption cases of former governments nominees?
The case has been resonating in the Czech Republic, but is being talked about much more now that SIS head Michal Aláč was dismissed. In the Czech mainstream media, the arguments of the Slovak PM and president are spreading in particular, as in the country President Zuzana Čaputová is considered a kind of symbol of moral integrity, with clear positions and a similar policy like with the war in Ukraine.
There has arisen the narrative of the opposition that it is a police conspiracy against Robert Fico, as he himself is trying to say, but not much thought has been given to it. In the Czech Republic, Robert Fico is perceived as a symbol of corruption or willfulness, and his pro-Russian stance aroused concern among the Czech public.
What is the opinion of the SIS abroad?
The SIS is part of the Slovak democratic system. This means that all cases from the past to the present undermine the credibility of Slovakia as a country with the rule of law in their own way - from suspicions of the SIS being involved in the kidnapping of former president Michal Kováč's son, through the abuse of power, to current accusations against two SIS heads. It is another piece of Slovak political culture.
What does such a breach of trust mean for the cooperation of SIS and foreign intelligence agencies?
Since agencies process and exchange classified information, it is precisely this area that can make foreign agencies be more cautious. The accusation of two heads dismissed disturbs the stability of the institution.
