Thousands protest in Slovakia against Fico government’s judicial reforms

Protesters called on President Pellegrini, usually an ally of Prime Minister Fico, to veto the changes.Published On 16 Dec 2025Thousands of people have rallied across Slovakia to protest against changes to the judicial system that opposition politicians and critics say are destroying the rule of law, Slovak media reported.Protesters filled much of a central square in the capital of Bratislava, and there were protests in eight other cities on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Slovak court sentences poet that shot PM to 21 years for ‘terror attack’list 2 of 3Slovak constitutional change promotes anti-LGBTQ ‘national identity’list 3 of 3How will Putin travel to Hungary to meet Trump with ICC arrest warrant?end of listThe biggest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, called the protest after Prime Minister Robert Fico‘s leftist-nationalist government pushed legislative changes through parliament last week that dismantle the whistleblower protection agency and change the way the state deals with crown witnesses.“They took a chainsaw to the rule of law,” Michal Simecka, the leader of Progressive Slovakia, told the crowd in Bratislava, according to a live video that streamed online.“Slovakia is the only country where the government approves laws to make life easier for criminals and mafia,” he also said.People carried Slovak and European Union flags as well as placards with slogans, such as “Fico’s government is helping Mafia”, and chanted “Enough of Fico” and “Shame!”A protester holds a banner reading, ‘For Christmas I wish to get a reason to be proud that I live here”, at a demonstration against the abolition of the whistleblower protection office and penal code changes [AFP]Fico’s critics claim that, under his government, Slovakia is following Hungary’s lead under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.Fico’s administration argues that the old whistleblower agency was politically abused. The administration has also weakened criminal codes for financial crimes, revamped the public broadcaster and pushed constitutional changes asserting national sovereignty over some EU laws, which has raised European Commission scrutiny.