Slovakia approves criminal law reforms that sparked protests

The Slovak parliament approved reforms scrapping a special prosecution branch dealing with high-level crime and lowering punishments for financial crimes in a fast-track procedure on Thursday, amid public protests and concerns from the European Commission.
The government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who took power last October for the fourth time after a stint in opposition, has argued the changes are necessary to end what it called excesses at the Special Prosecutor’s Office and bias against the now-ruling SMER-SSD party.
“The past government … disrupted principles of the rule of law and violated human rights,” SMER deputy Tibor Gaspar, a former police president who has been the subject of ongoing investigations, told parliament.
The government said the changes modernise the criminal code by lowering long prison terms and preferring alternative punishments.
President Zuzana Caputova immediately signalled she would try to stop the changes, possibly through a veto or a court challenge.