Ľuboš Kosík speaks out from Mali prison. (source: Courtesy of Sme)
Former member of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS), Ľuboš Kosík, has sent a 10-minute video from Mali confirming the participation of the intelligence service in the kidnapping of the then-president’s son, Michal Kováč Jr., in 1995.
In a video interview with the Sme daily on January 23, Kosík reiterates that the kidnapping of Michal Kováč Jr. took place with the participation of SIS members led by then-SIS head, Ivan Lexa. Kosík, detained in Mali in November 2016 based on an international warrant, fled Slovakia after the court sentenced him to 14 years in prison in the case of forging promissory notes for his former business partner Ľubomír Farenzena.
Slovakia has repeatedly requested his extradition from the local authorities but no answer has been received yet. The daily also turned to the management of the central prison in the Mali capital of Bamako. However, they did not provide details arguing that they are not authorised to do so. However, they did not deny that Kosík has been imprisoned there.
In the recent video-statement, the ex-SIS member confirms what he had already claimed in a written statement in early January. Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar doubted the authenticity of the original statement at that time. Kosík claims in the video that he is ready to testify if his personal safety is secured.
Police and Minister express doubts
“I do not know whether these are his statements. I doubt that anybody has direct access to him in prison,” Gašpar reacted as quoted by Sme.
The police had been eyeing Kosík even before he started appearing in the media, Gašpar told journalists on January 24.
“He is a person sentenced to 14 years in jail for deliberate criminal activities, which means that we want to get him to Slovakia,” Gašpar said as cited by the SITA newswire, adding that once Kosík is brought to Slovakia, he will be interrogated by the police.
Investigators are dealing with Kosík’s information as if it was provided by “an unverified person”. “Each credible piece of information – because testimonies must coincide with other evidence which will confirm how much of the information presented by this person is true – will be verified at the next stage,” the police president noted. “It is important to bring this person back to Slovakia,” he said, adding that the police have opened the file on the murder of Róbert Remiaš and the file on the alleged preparations to murder Oskar Fegyveres.
