Thousands protest in Slovakia against a government plan to amend the penal code

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands of people have taken to the streets of major cities in Slovakia to renew their protests against plans by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to amend the country’s penal code. The changes proposed by the three-party coalition government include abolishing the special prosecutors’ office that handles serious crimes such as graft, organized crime and extremism. Those cases would be taken over by prosecutors in regional offices that haven’t dealt with such crimes for 20 years. Local media cited police as saying that about 20,000 protesters condemned the plan at a central square in Bratislava on Thursday.