For now, Ivan Lexa will remain a free man.
On September 10, Slovakia's Supreme Court turned down a complaint from Justice Minister Ján Čarnogurský asking that former Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) chief and HZDS deputy Lexa be put back in prison. Lexa is charged with misuse of power for his alleged role in the 1995 abduction of Michal Kováč Jr. to Austria. He was in pre-trial custody between April 15 and July 19.
Čarnogurský had objected on July 28 to the decision of the Bratislava Regional Court to release Lexa. But the Supreme Court agreed with Lexa's defence, saying that the reasons for keeping him in jail, which were mainly to prevent him from intimidating witnesses, were no longer valid. The Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed.
