Last week, lawyer and activist Martin Landl was attacked during the Lučenec Town Days celebrations by supporters of the local neo-Nazi scene. Two criminal prosecutions have already been initiated — one for disorderly conduct and another for expressing sympathy for a movement aimed at suppressing fundamental rights and freedoms. However, questions have been raised about how police officers handled the incident. Landl told the Denník N daily that one officer even greeted the most aggressive attacker with a handshake. The Regional Police Directorate in Banská Bystrica rejected this, with spokesperson Mária Faltániová insisting the officers acted professionally and in line with the law. An internal investigation into the officers’ conduct has been opened. What happened After an event commemorating the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, members of the Lučenec civic initiative — including Landl — visited the local fair on Námestie Republiky square. According to the initiative, men at one table invoked “a native of Braunau” while raising their right hands in a fascist salute. Landl approached the group and asked them to stop. Two men stood up in a threatening manner, but friends and bystanders intervened before violence broke out. Landl later told Denník N that the men claimed to belong to Brat za Brata, a pro-Russian extremist group with ties to Moscow. In January, the group urged its supporters to “prepare for the cleansing of Slovakia”. When police arrived, Landl said he saw one officer shake hands with one of the men. Because the officers did not immediately identify the suspects, Landl attempted to photograph them. At that point, two of the men physically attacked him in front of the officers. Only then did the police intervene.
via spektator: Lawyer attacked by neo-Nazi supporters in Lučenec, police response under scrutiny