In 2020, Slovakia saw a significant increase in the number of individuals prosecuted for crimes committed as part of organised groups, Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipsic stated in the 2020 Report on the Special Prosecutor's Office Activities that Parliament acknowledged on Tuesday.
The House acknowledged the report behind schedule in the afternoon, as it had repeatedly lacked the quorum for a vote in the morning.
"The increase in the number of prosecuted individuals with respect to organised crime is also linked to media-covered cases nicknamed Mills of God, Purgatory and Judas, which led to indictments against several individuals previously heading the Police Corps, including the former Special Prosecutor himself. Instead of fighting against organised crime, these individuals face prosecutions for acting to its benefit, which jeopardised the fundamentals of the rule of law and public trust in justice and equality before the law," said Lipsic.
Thus, the number of defendants prosecuted for founding, orchestrating and supporting criminal group rose from 28 people in 2019 to 72 in 2020. In total, 163 individuals were charged and 90 individuals indicted over crimes related to organised crime in 2020. "Overall, 67 individuals were definitively sentenced," reads the text.
Lipsic also views as a positive signal the fact that the number of indictments for corruption in the management of public resources, corruption of top state officials and corruption in justice went up steeply. It is evident that since 2019 and 2020, the law enforcement tasked with uncovering corruption has ratcheted up its effort to combat corruption crimes.
In the report, Lipsic also points out that the Special Prosecutor's Office remains understaffed, having only 24 prosecutors instead of 30 in 2020.
