Far-right MP fined for racist statements on Roma

The far-right People's Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) MP Milan Mazurek was ordered by the Specialised Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica to pay a fine of €5,000 for his public racist comments against Roma. In an interview with Radio Frontinus in 2016, Mazurek claimed that all Roma ethnics are asocial and commit crimes. The verdict issued on Monday adds that if the fine is not paid he will go to prison for six months. Both the MP and the responsible prosecutor appealed against the verdict, albeit for different reasons. Mazurek considers it unfair, while the prosecutor views it as too lenient. Several sympathisers of his far-right party came to support the MP, but they were kept away from the court building by the police, so they withdrew to an adjacent street. He went to see them after the trial, complaining about the verdict as evidence that Slovakia is a "fascist state".