About 3,500 protest in Ljubljana accusing govt of curtailing civil liberties

According to local media outlets, the protesters moved around the buildings housing the government and the parliament and some of those disgruntled people arrived at the protest on bicycles.

The police reported that the protesters shouted paroles against the authorities and that there were no incidents.

The Ljubljana police spokeswoman, Aleksandra Golec, said that the gathering had not been reported in advance and that the organiser of the rally had not been identified.

The police are collecting information on possible wrongdoing and criminal offences during the protest.

Most participants in the rally wore protective masks.

Earlier this week, some of the containment measures imposed to curb the COVID-19 spread were lifted, however, a ban on the gathering of more people at a public site is still in place.

Protest rallies bringing together bicycle riders were also held in the cities of Maribor and Nova Gorica but they included a small number of participants.

Some activists issued calls on the Facebook for protest rallies against Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his cabinet accusing him of using the coronavirus situation to tighten his "authoritarian rule".

Jansa stepped into office on 3 March, after the government led by Majan Sarec resigned.