Slovenian Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek has filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office in Ljubljana against five opposition MPs on account of slander and libel.

Hanzek decided to act against all MPs of the National Party (SNS) but SNS leader Zmago Jelincic after they inquired with the government whether he was really forbidden to see his children.

He said that the cabinet cannot provide an answer to the question of "checking the suitability of candidates for top positions in the country" because the ombudsman is an independent office elected by parliament on proposal of the president.

The ombudsman stressed at Wednesday's press conference in Ljubljana that the MPs abused the purpose of what is know as "the MPs' questions". He announced that a civil suit is to follow, and added that after the false information surfaced in the public as a result of the questions both him and his children received threats.

The ombudsman took the opportunity to once again warn against the danger of intolerant political speech in Slovenia, which influences public opinion. Europe's history proves that such speech threatens peace and political stability and leads to suffering.

He stressed that such speech is ethically unacceptable under the Declaration on the Use of Racist, Antisemitic and Xenophobic Elements in Political Speech, adopted by the CoE's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance on 17 March 2005.