Investigative reports claiming corruption among Slovak politicians and officials by a Canadian journalist have triggered street demonstrations in the Central European country.
The journalist, Tom Nicholson, 45, has lived in Slovakia since 1997 and is married to a Slovak woman. He served as editor and publisher of the English language weekly, The Slovak Spectator, and headed investigative journalism at the Slovak weekly, SME.
According to his web page, his Canadian experience includes news editor at the Kingston Whig-Standard and free-lancing for the Ottawa Citizen, The Globe and Mail and the National Post. He was born in Suffolk, England, and holds Canadian and British citizenship, according to his web page.
His web page says he has an M.A. in history from Queen’s University, a B.Ed from Brock University and B.A. in history and philosophy from the University of Toronto..
His reports were said to have been based on files of the Slovak Secret Service (SIS) and involve kickbacks to leading politicians of all parties from the financial group Penta, based in the Czech Republic.
Nicholson has written a book about the scandal -- that was code named “Gorilla” by the secret service -- but a court in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, has issued an injunction against its publication at the request of a partner in the Penta company.
The alleged scandal has gripped the Slovak public and the media in advance of elections to be held next month. Hundreds of people have turned out on the streets of Bratislava in the past few weeks to protest against corruption.
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