Slovakia

Also in March, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of human rights defender Jolovan Wham for a Facebook post allegedly “scandalising the judiciary” in 2018. Wham served one week in jail.2 In August, Wham spent 10 days in jail for organizing a 2016 event at which Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong spoke. In September, media outlet New Naratif and editor PJ Thum faced police investigation for the publication of paid advertisements on Facebook during the July elections. In November, Jolovan Wham was charged with “illegal assembly” after posing on his own for a photo with a smiley face earlier in the year.3

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX (LGBTI) PEOPLE

Laws continued to discriminate against LGBTI people. A constitutional challenge to the law criminalizing consensual sexual relations between men was dismissed by the High Court.

DEATH PENALTY

Death sentences continued to be imposed, including for drug trafficking. In May, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a man was sentenced to death in a hearing held online, sparking international attention.4

1. Singapore: Social media companies forced to cooperate with abusive fake news law (News story, 19 February)

2. Singapore: Drop investigations under abusive contempt of court law (Public statement, 25 March)

3. Singapore: Drop charges against peaceful activist (Public statement, 27 November)

4. Singapore: Man sentenced to death on Zoom call (News story, 20

May)

SLOVAKIA

Slovak Republic Head of state: Zuzana Čaputová Head of government: Igor Matovič (replaced Peter Pellegrini in March)

Discrimination against Roma remained prevalent. The European Court of Human Rights found in favour of two Roma victims of police ill-treatment. A bill restricting access to abortion was rejected by parliament.

BACKGROUND

Parliamentary elections on 29 February resulted in a new government led by Igor Matovič, who was elected on an anticorruption platform.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government declared a state of emergency in March and implemented a wide range of measures to stop the spread of the virus.

In April, a former soldier was convicted of the 2018 murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, whose deaths sparked widespread protests. In September, a court acquitted businessman Marián Kočner, who had been accused of ordering the murder. The journalist had been investigating allegations of corruption, including in relation to the business activities of Marián Kočner.

DISCRIMINATION – ROMA

Anti-Roma prejudice and discrimination remained prevalent as Roma communities were stigmatized as a public health threat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities targeted Roma settlements with disproportionate and discriminatory measures in response to the COVID-19 virus.1 In April, the authorities tested residents of some Roma settlements for COVID-19 with the assistance of the army and ordered the mandatory quarantine of five Roma settlements on the grounds of public health. The legal basis for these mandatory