The opposition party SaS filed a criminal complaint against the Interior Minister this morning. They say that minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok abused his authority by suspending six investigating police officers. Mária Kolíková, SaS MP and former Justice Minister, said the officers were protected by the whistleblower act. She also said that the investigators are on the minimum wage and cannot actually do any other job. Therefore, SaS considers the proceedings against them to be bullying and intimidating to anyone who would want to investigate corruption.
Šutaj Eštok called the complaint a desperate attempt by desperate politicians to gain media attention. "I tell everyone that I will not be intimidated and will always act in accordance with the law and proceed only in accordance with the law," the minister stated.
President Zuzana Čaputová also entered the debate, albeit in cautious terms. She recalled that several government representatives declared before and after the elections that there would be no revanchism or steps that could appear to be such. "Especially in the Department of the Interior, it is important that all steps are not only in accordance with the law, but also appear that way," she concluded.
Yesterday, the SME newspaper pointed out there were 70 policemen under investigation for misconduct, all of them still working. To suspend only these six of them was inconsistent, the newspaper implied. Yesterday evening, minister Šutaj Eštok responded by saying he would suspend all police officers accused of misconduct. "Dozens of them," he said.
(TASR)
