Thousands of people protested yesterday in Slovakia against Prime Minister Robert Fico and his policies, which they believe bring the Central European country, a member of the European Union and NATO, closer to Russia, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
At the same time, the demonstrators also marked the seventh anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak.
Protests have been taking place in Slovakia every other week since the beginning of last month, sparked by Fico's visit to Moscow in December, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Slovakia is Europe" and "Enough Fico", chanted the crowd in Bratislava last night.
According to Slovak media, 12,000 people gathered at the rally in the capital, compared to 40,000 two weeks ago. There were protests in over 40 other cities.
The demonstrators also marked the anniversary of the 2018 murder of Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kushnirova. The case, which involved high-ranking people, sparked mass protests that eventually led to Fico's resignation as prime minister of Slovakia.
Meanwhile, the Slovak prime minister, who is now refusing to step down, is visiting the United States, where he is participating in the Conservative Political Action Conference. Fico, who survived an assassination attempt last year, met with billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, and expressed confidence that the era of funding anti-government media and NGOs is coming to an end.