Opposition Criticises PG Zilinka, Who Delivered Report on Activities in 2023

Bratislava, September 20 (TASR) - Opposition MPs in Parliament criticised Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka, who on Friday presented a report on the activities of the prosecutor's office for the past year. The coalition, on the contrary, was bothered by the fact that the opposition didn't comment on the report, but directly on Zilinka and his current actions. According to MP Maria Kolikova (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS), Zilinka entered the political struggle as well as criminal proceedings, describing as a fallacy that the Prosecutor-General's (PG) Office has an independent and impartial position under the Constitution. "The prosecutor-general always entered into political fights and is clearly doing so today," stated Kolikova, adding that the prosecutor's office needs a fundamental change. Coalition MP Zuzana Plevikova (Smer-SD) disagrees that Kolikova is making Zilinka a politician and the Prosecutor-General's Office a political body. "You expect something from the prosecutor-general, he doesn't do it and it bothers you," said Plevikova. MP for the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) Branislav Vanco praised the activities of the PG's Office for the report on the state of re-education centres in Slovakia. However, he blamed Zilinka for failing to do what he had represented when he started in the office. According to Vanco, at that time he spoke about the transparency of the prosecutor's office and his vision to reform it. Vanco stated that Zilinka changed his mind on the issue of Section 363 of the Penal Code. "The section is badly set up, it was modified on purpose so that it could be applied arbitrarily to any case," he pointed out, adding that the current prosecutor-general used it in difficult cases sensitive for society. am/mcs