Slovakia plans to raise police powers after Paris bloodshed

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia will give police more powers and personnel to prevent militant attacks in the wake of the Islamic State assault on Paris and in anticipation of Bratislava's EU presidency next year, the government said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wanted to fast-track a constitutional amendment next week in parliament to enable police to detain terrorism suspects for longer periods without pressing charges. The amendment would double permissible detention periods to 96 hours. If police file charges and ask for pre-trial custody, judges will have 144 hours to decide on the custody request. "We don't want to underestimate anything because anything can happen," Fico told journalists after a meeting of the small central European country's security council. "We can expect that people who want to commit terrorist acts will leave countries with mobilisation levels as seen in Brussels or in France. We are on alert because Slovakia and (neighbouring) Hungary could be transit countries for people who will feel safest back in Syria," he said. The government also plans to hire up to 2,500 extra police officers and authorise monitoring of phone calls of prisoners and detainees. Slovakia, a country of 5.4 million with no history of Islamist violence, will hold the rotating EU presidency in the second half of next year. Interior Minister Robert Kalinak said the presidency was one of the reasons to heighten security. (Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Mark Heinrich)