Slovak media reports that Zuzana Piussi, director of the documentary The Disease of the Third Power, risks up to two years imprisonment for surreptitiously filming a confrontational conversation with a Slovak judge about a controversial legal case involving judicial pressure and an attempt to influence a court case. The judge is also suing Slovak TV (www.rtvs.sk) for damages of 30,000 EUR for broadcasting the film.

The issue has prompted wide support for Piussi from a cross-section of Czech public figures including the Czech Foreign Minister.

The judge claims the conversation was a public matter and that filming it without her consent was a violation of her rights. Although her face was blurred, the judge claims she is identifiable in the film.