DISTURBING INCIDENTS PROMPT COMPARISONS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRATISLAVA 000215

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/CE, DRL, INL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM LO
SUBJECT: DISTURBING INCIDENTS PROMPT COMPARISONS TO
MECIAR-ERA TACTICS

Classified By: Keith Eddins, CDA, a.i., for reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (C) An alleged attempted poisoning of a judge's wife,
repeated unlawful entries into the offices of Slovakia's
premier watchdog NGO, and an 80-man strong police action
against a Franciscan monastery led by a priest who was
outspoken in his support for opposition presidential
candidate Iveta Radicova, have raised concerns among the
human rights and diplomatic community in Bratislava. Charge
will meet on May 19 with the UK Ambassador and other
diplomats to discuss these issues, as well as broader
questions related to rule of law in Slovakia.

Alleged Threats Against Constitutional Court Judge
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2. (SBU) On May 14, media reports surfaced that the wife of
Constitutional Court Judge Laco Orosz had been hospitalized
in what informed sources say was an attempted poisoning (she
has recovered). Subsequently Judge Orosz reportedly received
a call from an unknown male confirming the attempted
poisoning, and then asking if he still planned to vote in
favor of the Special Court. This was clearly a reference to
the May 20 Constitutional Court ruling on the
constitutionality of the Special Court against Corruption.
pursuant to a complaint filed by a group of MPs, mainly
members of Vladimir Meciar's party, HZDS. The action was
taken after HZDS nominee Justice Minister Harabin's more
direct attempts to get rid of the court were unsuccessful.
Informed sources indicate that the anti-Special Court faction
now has the votes needed to declare it unconstitutional.
Although Judge Orosz has refused to comment publicly, we can
confirm that he has been assigned a special protective
detail. Given what we have heard about how important the
closure of the Special Court is to Meciar and his supporters,
it does not surprise us that such brutal tactics have been
deployed.

Break-in at Fair-Play Alliance
--------------


3. (C) In a separate development, Zuzana Wienk informed us
May 15 that the office of the NGO she heads, Fair-Play
Alliance, a well-known watchdog group that was very active in
uncovering the recent "bulletin board" tender scandal, had
been broken into under suspicious circumstances. (Note: the
"bulletin board" tender was found to have violated Slovak and
EU regulations and has led to the sacking of the Minister
involved.) According to Wienk, she and her colleagues had
noticed on several occasions that the door to the office was
unlocked when they arrived in the morning, despite the fact
that they had locked it the previous evening. They changed
the lock, but this continued to occur. Recently, the NGO
moved its office. A few weeks ago, the new office was broken
into and a nominal amount of cash was stolen. Wienk said
that the fact that several more valuable items, such as
laptops, were not taken, suggested to her that the intent of
the unlawful entry was to send a signal to the NGO. Police
are investigating, but she doesn't expect the culprits to be
found. (Note: Fair-Play Alliance filed suit against the
government on May 13, asking it to ensure that the monies
already paid out pursuant to the illegal tender "bulletin
board" tender are returned to the state treasury. Fair-Play
has asked the General Prosecutor to join the NGO in this
suit, but has received no response.)


Raid On Monastery
--------------


4. (C) In yet another incident, at 6:00 am on May 12, 80
police officers raided the premises of Bratislava's
Franciscan monastery. The police said they had come to
arrest 3 priests who have been accused by two boys of sexual
abuse. The police seized all computers, USB devices and most
cellphones, including those belonging to the head of the
monastery, Jan Krstitel Balasz (he is not charged). During
the recent Presidential election, Balasz was one of several
priests who expressed his personal views about the
Presidential candidates. In a widely-circulated email, he
outlined why he supported Iveta Radicova, the opposition
candidate, as opposed to incumbent President Gasparovic. We
understand that this email came to the attention of the
Presidential office and led to direct expressions of concern
from the President to higher-ups in the Catholic hierachy.
Balasz told us that the story of the boys was not credible
for a number of reasons. Moreoever, he said that he had
received a call from the boys' mother after the raid,

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apologizing to him and in which she told him that the police
had forced her to make the statement alleging sexual abuse.
Balasz has a recording of this call. The police
investigation is unfolding, and, so far, there has been no
mention of the incident in the press. We cannot say whether
Balasz's support for Radicova and the raid are linked, but
his assertions raise concerns about the police action.


Comment
--------------


5. (C) The coincidence in timing of these three incidents has
cast them in stark relief. While crony capitalism and
corruption have marked, to a certain extent, all of
Slovakia's post-independence governments, what set the Meciar
era apart was his willingness to use intimidation and
outright violence against anyone he perceived to be an
opponent. While do not believe that Slovakia in 2009 is
comparable to Slovakia of the mid-1990's, we will be watching
these and other developments -- including the stalled
investigation against the Kosice police officers charged with
abusing Roma boys -- closely. The UK Ambassador has
organized a May 19 meeting of like-minded embassies to
discuss rule of law and corruption issues, at which we
anticipate these incidents will be raised.
EDDINS