Smer MP Janos resigns over alleged abuse of his wife

An MP of the leading Smer-SD party Vladimír Jánoš has resigned from his seat in Parliament over alleged domestic violence. A scandal broke out on Tuesday when transcriptions of audio recordings in which he verbally abuses and threatens his wife were published on the internet. Jánoš is also resigning as Smer-SD district chief in Prievidza (in Western Slovakia). Meanwhile, a lawyer of his wife Iveta has filed a complaint with the Prosecutor-General's Office against Jánoš for alleged blackmail, threats and coercion. Conversely, Jánoš has announced that he is filing a criminal complaint for slander and infringing on the sanctity of intimate verbal expression, claiming that "none of the claims in the media are true." Jánoš will be replaced in Parliament by a Smer-SD member Peter Gaži. It will not be his first time in a parliamentary seat as he has already been a member during this electoral term, but had to vacate the post for Peter Pellegrini, who returned from the Government to become parliamentary chairman.