During the last protest gathering held on January 24th at Freedom Square in Bratislava, there was no violation of basic rights and freedoms. This was confirmed by the Public Defender of Rights (VOP), Róbert Dobrovodský, based on independent monitoring of the protest. For preventive reasons, the Ombudsman will also monitor the upcoming gathering scheduled for Friday (February 7th).
"Based on the reports from the monitoring teams, I can confirm that the protest gathering proceeded peacefully and was professionally managed, both by the organizers and the police. There was no violation of basic rights and freedoms during the protest," said Dobrovodský.
The decision to carry out independent monitoring for the first time in the history of the Ombudsman’s office in Slovakia was made due to concerns that the police might misuse their power against participants of the protest. This response followed the conclusions from the Security Council meeting of the Slovak Republic on January 23rd. Seven monitoring teams were created, consisting of 14 staff members from the office. Similar monitoring activities are carried out by ombudsmen in Berlin and Austria, according to Dobrovodský.
The monitoring had two main objectives. The first was to record any use of force by the police, document it, and objectively assess the justification and proportionality of such actions. The second goal was for the monitoring teams to contribute to a peaceful atmosphere during the protest. Both state and city police, as well as the organizers, assisted in the monitoring process.
The Ombudsman plans to continue this monitoring. His focus will be on situations where there are objective concerns that the police may use force against participants during protests. "Even though I am not always on-site, it is my priority to protect the rights and freedoms of everyone," Dobrovodský stated, encouraging citizens to contact him if they encounter violations of rights and freedoms at any gathering.
Source: TASR
