Pellegrini: I Wouldn't Back Change in Way in Which SIS Head Is Appointed

Bratislava, February 16 (TASR) - Voice-SD wouldn't support stripping the president of the power to appoint the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) chief, said its leader and Parliamentary Chair Peter Pellegrini on TV Joj's show 'Na hrane' (On the Edge) on Thursday (February 15). Opposition Progressive Slovakia party leader and Parliamentary Vice-chair Michal Simecka, also on the show, said in reaction that he doesn't believe this. Pellegrini confirmed that he's already spoken about the issue with Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and that he rejected such a change. "He respected this, and it's simply no longer an issue," said Pellegrini. However, Simecka wouldn't be surprised if Fico came up with this proposal and Pellegrini eventually backed it. When asked whether or not he would appoint Pavol Gaspar as SIS head if he were president, Pellegrini said that he would appoint every person who has not been charged, suspected of committing a crime or prosecuted and meets all the legal requirements. By nominating Gaspar, Fico wants to turn an institution that is supposed to protect Slovakia's security interests into an instrument of revenge, stated Simecka. If the president disagrees with an amendment to the Penal Code, Pellegrini expects her to return it to Parliament. If she signed it and at the same time filed a motion with the Constitutional Court, he would find this procedure "weird". Simecka thinks it's important that the amendment to the Penal Code should never enter into force. "The moment the amendment comes into effect, even for one day, one hour, a huge number of sentences will be time-barred, and the penalty rates will suddenly be lower," he said, adding that this would mean freedom for a huge number of criminals. ko/df