The Bratislava I District Court found Alexander S. guilty of disorderly conduct and fined him €3,500 for his involvement in the shooting of the car of businessman Ľubomír Somorovský in front of the Kempinski hotel in Bratislava in March 2011. If Alexander S. fails to pay the fine, he will go to prison and lose the licence for the gun that he used in the shooting.
Alexander S.’s lawyer has appealed the verdict, the SITA newswire reported on September 6.
Though Alexander S. attended the hearing, he did not hear the verdict because he left the courtroom soon after it began. The judge had accepted his previous request not to attend the trial. Even the prosecutor did not insist on Alexander S.’s presence.
Alexander S. originally faced a punishment of six months to three years in prison, but the prosecutor asked for the minimum punishment, with a one-year conditional postponement. The defence had asked for the release of Alexander S., saying that while the incident had, in fact, occurred, it was not classified as a crime since Alexander S. was acting under severe distress, as reported by SITA.
The judge, on the other hand, said that even though the accused was upset, he could have controlled his behaviour.
The prosecutor also brought a letter allegedly written by Somorovský and addressed to Alexander S.’s father Sergei, in which Somorovský writes that there are cameras and bugging devices in Sergei S.’s offices, and that he knew everything that he had said about him, to whom and when. Moreover, Somorovský allegedly knew about all of Alexander S.’s past and future plans, SITA wrote.
The prosecutor also read the testimony of a witness who worked as a driver for Kempinski, who said that when he was parking a car, he noticed someone in a white jacket shooting at a silver Mercedes. Though he did not see the shooter’s face, he said that three shots were fired and that the shooter was about three metres away from the car, according to SITA.
Alexander S. and his father Sergei are currently in custody after having been detained in April on accusations of bribery. The businessmen own several companies involved with the production of cosmetics and alcohol and property rental, SITA wrote.
Sergei S. was once accused of fraud after allegedly receiving shares in AB Kozmetika for free thanks to the forgery Somorovský’s signature. According to the media, the shooting might have been related to this dispute, according to SITA.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.