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Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (leader of Hlas-SD/NI) has come under fire after the death of a detainee exposed cases of police brutality, despite claiming it was an isolated incident, while the opposition is demanding accountability, including his resignation.
On 5 November, police in the eastern Slovak city of Košice arrested 48-year-old Ľubomír for allegedly trying to steal alcohol from a local shop. Two policemen arrived, and one of them severely beat the detainee, who was caught on the shop’s cameras. The detainee lost consciousness and was taken to hospital, where he died the following day.
The senior officer involved was arrested on Monday and charged with manslaughter, facing 12 to 15 years in prison, while his colleague was released.
Details of the case have slowly emerged, with significant revelations coming only after several days. The public was first informed on 12 November.
On Thursday, a special closed meeting of the Parliament’s Defence and Security Committee was convened to discuss the case in detail, with further disturbing information coming to light.
Opposition MP František Majerský (KDH/EPP) said after the meeting that the accused policeman had tried to influence witnesses and obtain CCTV footage after the crime. The other policeman who witnessed the fight also remains on duty.
“We will end his work contract,” police president Ľubomír Solák said at a press conference after the committee meeting, being accompanied by Interior Minister Eštok.
Solák explained that the two policemen lied in their report about the arrest of Ľubomír after the violent fight. They first claimed that the detainee was heavily intoxicated and had slipped and fallen. But the autopsy clearly showed that he died as a result of the beating.
Neither Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas) nor Solák has taken responsibility yet. Opposition politicians have called for their resignations, but so far, there has been no response.
“It was a failure of a single police officer, an act that should never have happened,” said Eštok.
Eštok later said he wanted to “wait until the investigation is complete before holding anyone accountable if it is proven that there was no individual failure”. He also announced plans to introduce body cameras for officers and improve psychological testing.
However, the opposition remains adamant that accountability measures are overdue. The Progressive Slovakia party (PS/RE) has repeatedly called on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD/NI) to dismiss Interior Minister Šutaj Eštok.
“If you don’t do it, we will push for his dismissal in parliament,” said party leader Michal Šimečka.
The opposition SaS party has accused Eštok of exacerbating social tensions through his perceived arrogance and inflammatory rhetoric.
“Ľubomírs death is unquestionably the result of the policies of this government and of Matúš Šutaj Eštok, who in his one year in office has only succeeded in betraying the police,” it added, calling for participation in the 17 November demonstration.
This case is not an isolated one in Košice. Two weeks ago, MPs from the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee were in another department to investigate a case of brutal and apparently sexual violence by police officers against a man.
Four years earlier, 23-year-old Jakub was also the victim of police brutality in Košice, leaving an interrogation with two skull fractures that required emergency surgery.
(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)
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