Slovak police on Thursday arrested former Primer Minister Robert Fico in front of live television cameras when he tried to give a statement to the media to start a protest despite restrictions on crowd sizes.Even medium-sized public gatherings are currently banned in the country, which has one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the world after a record surge in November.
Any public gathering of more than six people is currently banned under Slovakia’s anti-COVID rules. It was initially unclear whether Fico would face any charges.
Police said they would provide further details about the arrest on Friday.
The protest went ahead anyway, with a procession of honking cars making their way through the capital, Bratislava. Fico said the rally complied with restrictions because it was mainly made up of cars.
“I was detained and accused of incitement. It is absurd. This is the end of democracy. I did not incite anything,” Fico told reporters after he was released.