Slovak police seek former defence minister over Ukraine aid, media report
June 18 (Reuters) - Slovak police attempted to detain a former defence minister and other former officials on Wednesday as part of investigations into how military aid was given to Ukraine, media outlets reported.
The police confirmed they were carrying out seizure operations in a prosecution initiated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), but gave no more details.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said on Facebook a team investigating ammunition donations to Ukraine under the former government, after Russia's invasion in 2022, was involved.
EPPO did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
News website Dennik N said police had sought to detain former defence minister Jaroslav Nad, who is out of the country on vacation, and another former ministry official. Nad has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing related to Ukraine aid.
Police had detained the former head of a state-owned defence firm, Dennik N said.
Slovakia's leftist-nationalist government under Prime Minister Robert Fico has taken sharp policy turns since taking power in 2023, including stopping military aid to Ukraine and seeking better ties with Russia, which supplies oil and gas to the country.
Last year, Fico's government accused the previous administration of treason and other offences for various donations to Ukraine. In November, an investigation into discrepancies into data on the donations was set up.
A report from the Supreme Audit Office last year had said errors related to budgetary rules were made in purchasing ammunition for Ukraine and it had handed findings to police.
Nad has denied allegations against him, and he said on Wednesday on social media that he was on vacation in Canada and due to return at the end of the month.
"Today's theatre honestly did not surprise or bother me," Nad said on Facebook. "I will keep repeating to myself how proud I am of how we helped Ukraine. I would do it again. And again."
Separately, the government has also called on police to investigate the previous government for donating MiG-29 fighter planes and an air defence system to Ukraine.
Fico has been vocally critical of European Union policy to Ukraine, saying weapons supplies prolong the war with Russia.
On Tuesday, he criticised plans of NATO, in which Slovakia is a member, to ramp up spending in the coming years and for the first time questioned Slovakia's place in the military alliance by saying neutrality would benefit the country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
Camden: Woman's murder may be linked to missing Rolex, police say
A missing Rolex watch may be linked to the death of a woman who was found stabbed in her home in north London, the Metropolitan Police has Abbott, also known as Sarah Steinberg, was found by paramedics unresponsive at her home in Mornington Place, Camden, at about 18:00 BST on 13 June and was pronounced dead at the 69-year-old was last seen walking her pet Corgi in Camden on 10 June, before she was found fatally injured three days detectives are keeping an open mind about the possible motive for the murder, they are appealing for information about the watch which they believe is missing from Ms Abbot's address. The watch has a distinctive diamond-encrusted Supt Jason Stewart said: "We are working closely with our colleagues in the homicide team to establish exactly what happened and it's incredibly important that we hear from anyone who may have knowledge about how this awful death occurred." He added: "Someone must have seen or heard something and no piece of information is too small."It could be the crucial clue that leads us to identify Jennifer's murderer."A post-mortem examination carried out on Sunday gave cause of death as sharp force arrests have been made in connection with her police patrols are continuing in the area.
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
Foreign criminals should expect to be deported, minister says
Human rights law should not prevent foreign criminals from being deported, the justice secretary has a speech Shabana Mahmood said that too often the law "protects those who break the rules", and the government was "clarifying" how such laws told a meeting of foreign ministers at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg that the UK was committed to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but it needed to evolve to respond to new Conservatives have argued the UK needs to leave the treaty altogether to take back control of the country's immigration system. The ECHR, which was established in 1950, sets out the rights and freedoms people are entitled to in the 46 signatory countries and is a central part of UK human rights is overseen by the Council of Europe, which is separate to the European Union but is made up of members including EU countries, the UK, Turkey and Ukraine. Mahmood told the meeting she welcomed a "dialogue" about the ECHR's future. "Because our convention was never meant to be frozen in time," she said."It has been amended, extended and interpreted over decades – responding to new threats, new rights, and new realities. And we must consider doing so again."She said the UK was already "actively pursuing" how the convention is implemented government has promised new legislation to clarify how Article 8 of the ECHR - which protects the right to family life - operates in relation to immigration rules and to ensure Parliament can control the country's cited cases where foreign criminals had invoked Article 8 to avoid deportation, saying this felt "out of step with common sense".She also gave the example of dangerous prisoners using the same article to attempt to block prison staff from putting them in separation added: "There is a growing perception – sometimes mistaken, sometimes grounded in reality – that human rights are no longer a shield for the vulnerable, but a tool for criminals to avoid responsibility." The Conservatives have called for human rights law to be disapplied from all immigration cases and for the government to have the power to deport all foreign leader Kemi Badenoch has said she believes the UK will likely need to leave the ECHR because it has become a "sword used to attack democratic decisions" and to halt attempts to remove illegal migrants and foreign has launched a commission, which is due to report back in the autumn, to look at the potential consequences of leaving the treaty - an issue which has split the Tory Party. Other members of the Council of Europe have also called for the ECHR to be reformed to make it easier to deport foreign criminals. In an open letter in May, nine countries, led by Italy and Denmark, said there were concerning cases where the convention had "resulted in the protection of the wrong people". Earlier this month the head of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, told the Times newspaper he recognised the convention needed to "adapt" to a changing world. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Israel-Iran live: Trump says he 'may or may not' strike Iran - as Starmer calls emergency COBRA meeting
It's likely Sir Keir Starmer's government won't wade into the Middle East in defence of Israel, according to our experts. Speaking in our live Q&A earlier this afternoon, our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn said there were some roles Britain could hypothetically play. Britain could help plug the gaps in Israel's dwindling arsenal by supplying air defence projectiles - with reports emerging today that Israel was burning through its supplies of Arrow interceptors. But Waghorn said: "I think Britain's got to think very carefully about this. "We have sent various RAF assets to the region and there's a possibility that they get involved in trying to protect Israel from more missile attacks." Our military analyst Michael Clarke points out that defence secretary John Healey suggested this at a defence conference this week. "I thought it was rather curious," said Clarke. Both described any British involvement as "politically hard to imagine". Waghorn said: "I think there's a real queasiness about that in the British government, and there's a lot of concern, I think, among Labour MPs as to what Israel's done, why it's done it so pre-emptively and has it provided any evidence. "I think Britain is like what we're saying about China and Russia and everyone else - stay out of it." Catch up on their insight from our Q&A below...
