Slovakia has banned the entry of Georgian military volunteer Mamuka Mamulashvili and nine others, accusing them of participating in an alleged plot to overthrow the government by organizing protests, reports "Reuters"
Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has taken a pro-Russian stance on the war in Ukraine, said that the Georgian National Legion, which is fighting on the side of Ukraine against Russian forces, is behind organizing the protests in the country.
"We can confirm that the Georgian National Legion is behind organizing the protests in Slovakia," Fico said at a news conference.
Fico showed photos of Mamulashvili with activist from Mier Ukraine (Peace for Ukraine) Lucija Staselova, as well as Slovak journalist Martin M. Šimečka, who is the father of opposition leader Michal Šimečka.
Although the prime minister accused Mamulashvili of complicity in an alleged coup, he did not provide concrete evidence of how the Georgian volunteer participated in planning the overthrow of the government.
Mamulashvili categorically denied the accusations in an interview with dennikn.sk, stating that he had no connection to the protests in Slovakia.
For its part, the Mier Ukraine group said that the photo of Staselova with Mamulashvili was taken during a public debate in Bratislava in 2023. They called the accusations "lies and manipulation".
The other photo with Mamulashvili, in which journalist Šimečka was present, was taken when Slovak reporters were delivering humanitarian aid to his military unit in Ukraine, dennikn.sk specifies.
In addition to the entry ban on 10 people, Interior Minister Matusz Šutaj Eštok announced that a Ukrainian citizen had been detained and deportation proceedings had been initiated against him.
The organizers of the protests, the Nie v Nasom Meste ("Not in Our Town") group, denied any involvement in illegal activities and said that the protests were directed against Fico's policies, which are increasingly worsening Slovakia's relations with its Western partners.