Slovak MPs criticise Czech police for not prosecuting social media users who applauded Fico assassination attempt

MPs from the largest Slovak government coalition party, Direction – Social Democracy (commonly referred to as Smer), have criticised the Czech police for failing to prosecute social media users who publicly applauded the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in May. The office of the Slovak government has also joined in the condemnation.

The Czech police have countered that they are bound by legal regulations in terms of which acts they can prosecute. Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan described the criticism as inappropriate, given that the Czech police are a strictly apolitical organisation and that the Czech and Slovak police cooperate frequently and smoothly.

Smer MP and former Slovak police chief Tibor Gašpar cited as part of his criticism the reaction of the Czech police to Jindřich Rajchl, the head of the Czech non-parliamentary party PRO, who published a statement he received from the police in response to his suggestion of bringing charges against people who applauded the assassination attempt on social media. The police wrote in their statement that the social media posts in question fell under the purview of freedom of speech.

Fico was hospitalised after the attempt on his life on 15 May 2024 but survived and has since been discharged. Smer is Robert Fico's own party, which he founded in 1999 and still leads today.