a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and of the press; while the government generally respected these rights in practice, it imposed limits aimed at extremist groups. The law prohibits the defamation of nationalities, which is punishable by up to three years in prison, and denying the Holocaust, which carries a sentence of six months to three years. The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction, although state-owned television and wire services were subject to political influence by the government. There were reports that newly appointed directors of Slovak Public Television exerted pressure in the news department to provide favorable coverage of governing coalition events and activities, leading to the departure of several reporters and editors. The government took several actions that observers believed were intended to pressure the media to curtail reporting critical of the government. In September the prime minister asked the prosecutor general to investigate journalists reporting corruption allegations against the minister of labor. The Slovak Syndicate of Journalists issued a statement rejecting the prime minister's actions as an attempt to instill self‑censorship among journalists. The government also passed two resolutions reprimanding journalists for being too aggressive.
On December 6, the Bratislava district court ordered the newspaper Plus 1 Den to pay $22,000 (500,000 korunas) to Minister of Justice Harabin for publishing an article entitled "Harabin Protects Murderers."
The newspaper Pravda appealed to the Constitutional Court the February 2006 regional court ruling ordering it to apologize and pay damages of $176,000 (four million korunas) to a former supreme court chairman and current minister of justice for news stories and cartoons alleging judicial corruption. The court had not decided by year's end whether to hear the appeal.
Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e‑mails; however, police monitored Web sites hosting hate speech and attempted to arrest or fine the authors. The law defines hate speech as speech that publicly threatens an individual or group based on nationality, ethnicity, race, skin color, or that publicly incites the restriction of rights and freedoms of such an individual or group. Individuals and groups could otherwise engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet access was generally available across the country.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
