ROBERT Čačko who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2007 has failed to convince the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) that a provision of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning a ban on torture was violated by the sentence.
Čačko also claimed that there was “no effective remedy” to his sentence in place at the time that he was imprisoned, the TASR newswire has learnt from Slovak Justice Ministry spokesperson Alexandra Donevova.
The Regional Court in Košice handed down life imprisonment to Čačko in July 2007 for murdering his step-father in 2005 after previously serving jail terms for another murder as well as rape. Čačko stabbed his stepfather 14 times while on parole from a prison term for murder. According to Donevová, the ECHR concurred with the Slovak government’s line of argument that none of Čačko’s rights had been violated.
The ECHR also took into account the fact that as of January 1, 2010, relatively shortly after Čačko’s sentence, his situation changed in that the option of releasing a prisoner who faces life imprisonment after serving 25 years in jail was introduced, and this also applies to Čačko, Donevová said, adding that the ECHR concluded that Slovak law does give Čačko the option of having his sentence reviewed.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
