Presidential Palace in Bratislava. (source: Sme)
A Serbian citizen stepped inside the area of Grassalkovič Palace in Bratislava which serves as the presidential palace from Hodžovo Square at noon on July 25.
Guards with the Office for Protection of Constitutional Officials at the Interior Ministry (UOUCaDM) immediately arrested the intruder and handed him over to police officers, said Roman Krpelan, head of the President’s Office press department.
“The detained man justified his jump over the fence by saying that he was looking for refuge from a person who was chasing him,” Krpelan told the TASR newswire.
A similar case occurred on June 28 when a 35-year-old Czech entered the palace garden at night, walked up the stairs to the highest floor of the palace where he spent around 20 minutes and then left the building. The police detained him three days later.
For the late-night intrusion, OPCD’s head Radovan Horváth tendered his resignation. Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák of Smer accepted his resignation, but after the presidency finishes, i.e. on January 1, 2017, TASR reported.
