Slovaks rally against government moves they see damaging rule of law

Dec ‌16 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took part in rallies across Slovakia ‍on ‌Tuesday to protest against changes to the judicial system that opposition ⁠politicians and critics say are ‌destroying the rule of law in the European Union member, Slovak media said.

Protesters filled much of a central square in the capital Bratislava, ⁠and there were protests in eight other cities.

The biggest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, called ​the protest after Prime Minister Robert Fico's ‌leftist-nationalist government pushed legislative changes ⁠through parliament last week that dismantle the whistleblower protection agency and change the way the state deals with crown witnesses.

"They took ​a chainsaw to the rule of law," Michal Simecka, leader of the largest opposition party Progressive Slovakia, told the crowd in Bratislava, according to live video shown on the internet.

People ​carried Slovak ‍and European Union flags ​and slogans such as "Fico's government is helping Mafia" and chanted "Enough of Fico" and "Shame!".

Fico's administration argues that the old whistleblower agency was politically abused. The administration has also weakened criminal codes for financial crimes, revamped the public broadcaster and pushed constitutional changes asserting national ⁠sovereignty over some EU laws, which has raised European Commission scrutiny.

Fico's government has faced several ​large protests since coming to power in 2023, and Tuesday's rally was one of the biggest since last February when tens of thousands demonstrated against what critics say ‌is a foreign policy shift taking the country closer to Russia.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet in PragueEditing by Frances Kerry)