In January 2025, Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, flanked by Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok and Slovak Information Service (SIS) Director Pavol Gašpar, publicly named Mamuka Mamulašvili, commander of the Ukrainian-aligned Georgian Legion, as a central figure in an alleged coup plot and claimed he had been barred from the European Union’s Schengen Area on security grounds. Six months later, Mamulašvili was filmed walking freely in Bratislava, and police records showed no trace of a travel ban—contradicting the government’s earlier statements and prompting questions about whether the restriction was ever sought. With no charges filed, no questioning of Slovak activists publicly linked to the case, and legal experts confirming that Schengen bans require formal entries that appear absent here, opposition parties accused the coalition of staging political theatre and misusing security institutions. In a separate commentary, Slovak Media Monitor editor-in-chief Victor Breiner described the January announcement as a coordinated “information-psychological operation” by the country’s top political offices, alleging misuse of intelligence services, possible Russian involvement, and deliberate conflation of unrelated security incidents to deter public protest—claims the government has not addressed while insisting investigations remain active under strict secrecy.
In January 2025, senior Slovak government officials and the leadership of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) announced that they had prevented an alleged attempt to overthrow the state. At a joint press conference, Prime Minister Robert Fico, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok, and SIS Director Pavol Gašpar identified Mamuka Mamulašvili, commander of the Georgian Legion fighting in Ukraine, as a central figure in the supposed plot. They claimed that he, along with nine others, had been barred from entering the Schengen Area on security grounds.
Six months later, in late July, Mamuka Mamulašvili was filmed freely walking in central Bratislava, including in front of the Government Office, by Slovak war correspondent Tomáš Forró. The footage, shared online, showed that he was able to travel legally within the Schengen Area. Inquiries to the National SIRENE Bureau—the Slovak police unit responsible for entries into the Schengen Information System—revealed no record of a travel ban against him. Forró interpreted this as evidence that Slovak authorities never attempted to impose such a ban, suggesting they may have avoided doing so to prevent official rejection for lack of evidence.
The Ministry of Interior declined to confirm whether a ban request had been filed, citing operational secrecy, while SIS stated it would not comment on intelligence procedures. No individual has been charged in connection with the alleged coup plot, and activists previously linked to Mamulašvili in political statements—such as Lucia Štasselová of the pro-Ukraine civic initiative Mier Ukrajine—report having never been questioned by police. Protests against the government in early 2025, which officials had suggested could turn violent, were peaceful.
Legal experts explained that Schengen entry bans require formal administrative action, typically accompanied by a substantiated claim of security risk and an official record in the Schengen Information System. Miroslava Mittelmannová of the Human Rights League stated that the absence of such a record strongly indicates that no ban was ever issued.
Opposition politicians criticised the January press conference as politically motivated theatre. Former police president and Progressive Slovakia MP Jaroslav Spišiak accused government leaders of either endangering constitutional security or deliberately misleading the public. The Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) argued that the use of the National Security Council for such announcements represented an abuse of state institutions.
In a related editorial commentary, Slovak Media Monitor editor-in-chief Victor Breiner described the January events as a deliberate “information-psychological operation” conducted by the prime minister, the entire government, and the president to deter public protest. Breiner accused the country’s leadership of misusing both the Slovak Information Service and Military Intelligence, damaging their international credibility and potentially cooperating with Russian intelligence services. He linked the government’s messaging on the alleged coup to other recent security incidents, including repeated bomb threats to Slovak and Czech schools, cyberattacks on state systems, and an alleged assassination attempt on the prime minister, suggesting that these were publicly framed as part of a single foreign-directed conspiracy. Breiner concluded that such tactics amounted to ruling through fear and manipulation, asserting that “all constitutional leaders, with the help of the secret services, can without hesitation launch a manipulative information-psychological operation against their own citizens.”
The police have stated that investigations into the alleged coup and related matters remain ongoing, but have offered no further public details, citing operational secrecy.
Source: Dušan Mikušovič | Denník N
