The Czech Prime Minister of Slovak origin, Andrej Babiš, will remain in the registers of the communist-era secret police ŠtB agents, since the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) dismissed a complaint he filed against Slovakia on June 14, the Czech weekly Respekt wrote on its website.
Babiš wanted to make an official declaration that he did not knowingly collaborate with ŠtB. It is unknown what the complaint contained in detail, but the reports suggest that he argued that the Slovak courts had breached his rights, Respekt reported.
Czech PM files lawsuit against Slovakia at ECHR Read more The ECHR rejected the complaint on November 20, 2018.
Babiš's court campaigns in Slovakia
Babiš has been trying to have his name deleted from the ŠtB files since entering politics.
When he first turned to the courts, he won. The judge predominantly took into account the testimonies of former ŠtB officers, stating that Babiš had not been an agent.
However, historians and experts studying ŠtB claimed that Babiš’s code name “Bureš” is mentioned in 12 volumes of ŠtB records, Respekt reported.
The Constitutional Court in Slovakia later ruled testimonies of ex-ŠtB officers cannot be taken as credible. Upon this ruling, other courts had to decide in a way that Bureš will not be erased from the list.
We are sorry about Babiš. We aren't all like him Read more Yet, Babiš took to court the Nation’s Memory Institute (ÚPN), which collects all the documents in regard to communism in Czechoslovakia, not the Slovak Republic in this case.
The Supreme Court in Slovakia also confirmed the previous rulings. As a result, Babiš turned to the ECHR, unsuccessfully.
Respekt has speculated that Babiš could file another complaint, this time against Slovakia’s Interior Ministry.
