Juraj Hossu in 2019. (source: Marko Erd, Sme)
A man sentenced to nine years in jail after he beat a man to death on a Bratislava street when he tried to stop two women being harassed has been released from jail after just three years of a nine year sentence.
The Trnava District Court conditionally released Juraj Hossu who was jailed for the 2018 killing of Filipino Henry Acorda in Bratislava.
The court imposed a seven-year probation period on Hossu, and ordered him to wear a tracking bracelet for three years and adhere to a 9PM to 5AM curfew. He must also find work and is not allowed to drink alcohol or take drugs.
Hossu, from the southern-Slovak district of Dunajská Streda, attacked Henry John Serafica Acorda, after the latter tried to prevent him from harassing two women on Obchodná Street in Bratislava in the early morning of May 26, 2018. After Acorda fell to the ground, Hossu, 28 at the time, kicked him in the head.
A video circulating on the internet soon after the attack showed Hossu posing with his foot on his victim while he apparently took a picture.
The killing resulted in a protest whose participants demanded “Justice for Henry”, and sparked debate about Bratislava's nightlife, no-go zones in the city, and the safety of people, especially foreigners, in the streets. It also resulted in the establishment of a municipal police station on Obchodná Street.
