internationale situation - Slowakei

04. April 2013

The sentence of nine years in prison and an order to undergo psychiatric treatment handed down by a court in Slovakia against municipal police officer Milan Juhász, who shot dead three people and injured two others in Hurbanovo last year, has prompted much reaction. The defendant originally faced the possibility of life in prison, but the judges chose a lighter sentence for him at the suggestion of the prosecutor and after experts testified that he had not been completely sane when he committed the shooting. The verdict has taken effect, as neither side has appealed. “The Romani Union Party sharply protests the nine-year sentence for the shooter from Urbanovo [sic], Milan Juhász, who committed a triple murder and seriously injured two people. The party cannot agree with the court’s findings and there is no excuse for this behavior with respect to protecting public order and the residents of the town. The psychiatrist did not unequivocally testify that Milan Juhász was incapable of telling right from wrong when he committed this crime. As a member of the municipal police, he had previously undergone psychological testing and knew what legal procedures he could have used to settle any dispute he had with troubled residents. He did not deny that he committed premeditated murder, and his confession was evidence of the fact that he recalls his actions very well and therefore knew what he was doing. We disagree with this absurdly low sentence, as well as with the fact that he will be under protective supervision for three years only, and we consider this sentence disproportionate to the seriousness of this crime, which we believe was racially motivated. Experts have even claimed that they cannot rule out the notion that he might repeat this behavior, so this person decidedly does not belong at large until the end of his life,” said František Tanko, chair of the Romani Union Party in Slovakia (Strana romské unie na Slovensku).

via romea.cz: Slovakia: Punishment for shooter of three Romani victims called absurdly low

internationale situation - Slowakei

04. Juni 2012

Zwei Roma-Jungen zünden beim heimlichen Rauchen versehentlich ein historisches Gebäude im Osten der Slowakei an, das Bauwerk wird schwer beschädigt. Aus Rache will ein ortsansässiger Rechtsextremist Hunderte Roma nun von einem Grundstück verjagen - dessen Besitzer hat es ihm eigens dafür überlassen (sueddeutsche.de).

internationale situation - Slowakei

18. Mai 2012

Slovak authorities say the number of ultra-right extremist crimes committed in the country last year more than doubled compared to 2010. Police solved 44 % of the 243 new cases reported. News server sme.sk reports that the Slovak Government published the figures in its reports to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The largest share of these cases – 227 of them – was comprised of the crime of promoting and supporting a group aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms. One-sixth of the cases concerned incitement to ethnic, national or racial hatred. The authorities registered 128 % more racially motivated crimes in 2011 than in 2010. Five basic forms of extremism are currently tracked by the authorities in Slovakia: Environmental extremists, religious extremists, ultra-left or ultra-right extremists, and violent sports fans. The report says that ultra-right groups, which in the 1990s were rather random configurations without firm structures, have radicalized their activities and are doing their best to expand their membership. There has also been an evident rise in fan violence and manifestations of extremism at sports stadiums. These problems are said to be related, because the members of the fan groups most at risk of committing violence regularly attend demonstrations and marches organized by extremist associations.

via romea.cz: Slovakia: Ultra-right extremist crime rate more than doubles

internationale situation - Slowakei

29. April 2012

Vandals destroyed 55 graves at a Jewish cemetery in Kosice, eastern Slovakia at the weekend, police said Tuesday. “Unknown perpetrators uprooted and smashed 55 gravestones, causing damage worth 50,000 euros (66,000 dollars),” police spokeswoman Jana Mesarova told AFP

via ejpress: Vandals destroy 55 Jewish graves in Slovakia

internationale situation - Slowakei

12. März 2012

Die Slowakei wird künftig wieder von einer proeuropäischen Regierung geführt. Nachdem die Mitte-Rechts-Koalition im Streit über die Euro-Rettung auseinandergebrochen war, siegten nun die Sozialdemokraten – und zwar deutlich mit einer absoluten Mehrheit der Sitze.

via morgenpost: Neuwahl sorgt für Machtwechsel in der Slowakei

siehe auch: Slovak opposition wins landslide election. Social Democrats rout the governing centre-right coalition by winning 60 of the 150 seats in parliament.The leftist opposition party in Slovakia has won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections. With the results coming in on Sunday, votes from 5,811 of the 5,956 polling stations counted by the Statistics Office has the Smer-Social Democracy Party of Robert Fico, former prime minister, as the clear winner with 44.8 per cent of the vote, or 84 seats in the 150-seat Parliament. The result allows Fico, a pro-European, 47-year-old lawyer, to govern alone, as initially the exit-polls suggested Fico would need to govern in a coalition. Fico, a populist leader, pledged to maintain a welfare state, increase corporate tax and hike income tax for the highest earners. The outgoing centre-right, four-party coalition just combined 50 seats as it faced voter anger over a major corruption scandal, while the new Ordinary People party won 16 seats.

A triumphant Fico, however, has said he was ready to take on a coalition partner if any of the other parties were ready to support his agenda.