In a dramatic and unprecedented revelation, a veteran Slovak intelligence officer has sounded the alarm over what he describes as a systemic collapse inside Slovakia’s Intelligence Service (SIS). His accusations—ranging from political interference to unlawful surveillance—paint a deeply troubling picture of a security agency drifting into chaos under its current director, Pavel Gašpar.
A Dire Warning From Inside the Shadows
Juraj Kulík, former head of the National Security Analytical Center (NBAC) and a 22-year intelligence veteran, broke his silence in an explosive interview for the Disinforeport podcast by Infosecurity.sk. His message was blunt and unmistakable:
“This is a path to hell. An intelligence service must be strictly apolitical. For the director, this is not only a moral duty—it is a legal obligation.”
According to Kulík, Gašpar has pulled the agency into the center of Slovakia’s political battlefield, jeopardizing both its credibility and national security.
The State Coup Scandal: A Manufactured Threat?
Kulík’s most serious claims revolve around the headline-grabbing “state coup preparation” affair earlier this year. The controversy erupted when Prime Minister Robert Fico and other coalition leaders declared—citing a classified SIS report—that Slovakia was facing an organized attempt to overthrow the government, allegedly orchestrated by foreign activists and protest-organizing specialists.
But Kulík now suggests the affair was mishandled from the start.
He says SIS not only improperly framed the information but openly admitted that parts of the intelligence were obtained through wiretapping and technical surveillance tools. That alone, he argues, is a direct violation of Slovak law:
“The law explicitly forbids revealing the use of such tools. SIS cannot disclose when or how these devices are deployed. The handling of personal data from such operations is also legally questionable.”
For a national security agency, exposing operational methods is more than a procedural error—it’s a catastrophic breach of tradecraft.
International Isolation and Internal Disintegration
Beyond the coup affair, Kulík warns of broader structural decay under Gašpar’s leadership. He cites:
- Growing international isolation, with foreign partners allegedly losing trust in Slovakia’s intelligence capabilities.
- Politicized decision-making, undermining SIS neutrality.
- Operational failures, stemming from leadership’s alleged disregard for core intelligence principles.
Together, he argues, these problems threaten to transform the SIS from a functional security body into a tool of domestic political power.
A Crisis With Far-Reaching Consequences
If Kulík’s allegations are accurate, Slovakia may be facing one of the most serious intelligence crises in its modern history. A compromised security service not only weakens intelligence cooperation with allies—it exposes the country to real threats while it pursues political phantoms.
For now, neither Gašpar nor the SIS leadership has provided a detailed response. But the storm inside Slovakia’s intelligence community is only intensifying.