Slovak anti-extremism law used following attack on French citizen

New powers in the fight against extremist crimes were put into practice by the Special Prosecutor's Office (USP) on Tuesday, TASR learnt from Prosecutor-General's Office spokesperson Andrea Predajňová. The Office filed a proposal to remand in custody a man identified as Peter P., who is believed to have assaulted a dark-skinned French student in a pub in the central Slovak town of Banská Bystrica on Sunday. The case is being dealt with by the National Crime Agency, which has charged Peter P. with wounding and disorderly conduct. Despite no prior conflict with the 20-year-old student, Peter P. smashed a glass over his head, inflicting wounds that are expected to leave him incapacitated for 10-15 days. At least four people witnessed the incident, in which Peter P. reportedly also hurled racist slurs and death threats at the young Frenchman, said Police Corps Presidium spokesperson Denisa Baloghová. "Despite attempts by onlookers to prevent him [Peter P.] from carrying out further assaults, the man carried on calling him names," said Baloghová. If convicted, Peter P., 31, may face up to three years in prison. "This is the first extremist crime since new legislation became effective that has resulted in a prosecutor at the Special Prosecutor's Office filing a proposal for prosecution with a defendant held in custody," said Predajňová. Banská Bystrica's Matej Bel University (UMB) said that it was deeply saddened to learn about an assault on one of its students. "Our university pledges allegiance to intercultural values, and we've been working on intensive collaboration for many years, in particular with partners from the French-speaking world. We view this situation in a very sensitive light, notwithstanding the fact that the incident occurred outside university grounds and during the students' spare time," said UMB vice-rector for international relations and public relations Katarína Chovancová.