The present case is the greatest international scandal and shame of the last 20 years of Slovakia. The case is uncannily similar to an abduction 23 years ago, when the then Slovak president’s son was kidnapped and transported abroad with the involvement of the Slovak authorities.

The kidnapping of the Vietnamese man has brought to light facts that are scandalous and damaging to the government, mainly thanks to German police. In a normal country, in such a situation, the public bodies under suspicion would have an interest to clarify their role and to credibly prove their innocence as soon as possible. But instead we are seeing what we saw last time after Kuciak’s murder: first, the police are completely inactive, and then, after the scandal has blown over, take sham measures due to social pressure, the aim of which is clearly to put up a smokescreen and to prevent those responsible from being sought. It is deplorable that Slovakia’s competent bodies, in particular the Minister of Interior, pretend not to have any responsibility and that the case is essentially only a German affair.

Slovakia, as a state, has become the caricature of itself in recent months. The public trust in the law enforcement bodies was the lowest in Slovakia within the EU even before Kuciak’s murder. The situation has only worsened since then. The society believes that the current political leadership does not intend to improve the situation, quite the contrary. It can be seen that the former minister (Kaliňák), instead of the serving minister, and the former prime minister (Fico), instead of the serving prime minister, are ruling, together with their partners inside the government. The Coalition Council is taking effective decisions (SMER, Most-Híd, and SNS), it is thus clear that they are together responsible for what is happening in the country.

The position taken by Most-Híd on this matter is as much spurious and phony as it was on Kuciak’s murder. But the facts speak for themselves: the position that has been unacceptable to the society for a long time is still acceptable to Most-Híd.”
(SMK-MKP press release, , 10 Aug 2018)