THREE men who faced charges in the case of the murder of mafia boss Miroslav Sýkora have been released from custody following a procedural error, the TASR newswire reported on July 27, citing the Nový Čas tabloid daily.
"The defendants have been released from custody on an order from chairman of the Bratislava I District Court senate due to the fact that a prosecutor with the Prosecutor-General's Office failed to adhere to the deadline set by law for filing a motion in support of extending custody expired," said Erik Tomus of the Regional Court in Bratislava.
Consequently, the judge concerned had no other remedy than to release Marek Lupták, Richard Benčič and Milan Majtán.
As far as those charged in the case are concerned, only Ľuboš Ferus, who has been convicted in another case, remains behind bars, TASR wrote.
General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár has ordered a probe into what happened and, if the prosecutor concerned is found to have erred, immediate disciplinary action will be taken, General Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Andrea Predajňová said.
The four men were charged with the murder of Miroslav Sýkora only last year, 16 years after Sýkora was shot dead on a parking lot outside the Holiday Inn hotel in Bratislava.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
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