Slovak Parliament Speaker Ordered to Pay €50,000 to Police Officer for Defamation

Boris Kollár, Speaker of Slovakia's National Council, has been ordered to pay €50,000 to police officer Ján Čurilla after a regional court upheld a defamation ruling. The court found that Kollár's public statements referring to "Čurilla's mafia" damaged both the individual officer and the National Criminal Agency itself. The ruling, which has become final after Kollár did not contest the damages amount during the appeals process, stated that such rhetoric undermines public trust in law enforcement and reduces citizens' sense of security. Kollár leads the We Are Family party, a populist formation that is part of Slovakia's ruling coalition.