Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
A senior Slovak police officer accused of sabotage has had his criminal charge overturned by prosecutors, but he remains suspended from duty after the interior minister declined to reinstate him.
Matej Varga, a policeman formerly with the National Crime Agency (NAKA) East division, was detained and charged in early July by the Interior Ministry’s police inspectorate, which investigates alleged misconduct by police officers. The inspectorate accused Varga of fabricating suspicions against the country’s general prosecutor, Maroš Žilinka, and his deputy, Jozef Kandera. Investigators from the “Veritas” team argued that Varga’s actions amounted to sabotage.
Prosecuted without proof
Last week, Branislav Reday, a prosecutor at the Košice regional prosecutor’s office, dismissed the charge, upholding Varga’s complaint that he had been wrongly accused. Reday concluded that the alleged offence did not constitute sabotage, nor was there evidence of abuse of office. He ordered the inspectorate to reconsider its case.
In his ruling, the prosecutor said Varga had verbally told an officer to start surveillance of Žilinka and Kandera, but the order had no effect because only superiors — not Varga — could authorise it. That approval was instead given by other officers, who are now testifying against Varga but have not been charged themselves.
Varga, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, welcomed the decision. He added that he hoped this would also apply to several of his colleagues — including investigators Ján Čurilla and Pavol Ďurka — who face similar charges from the inspectorate.
Despite the prosecutor’s decision, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok, from the governing Hlas party, has ruled out Varga’s return to duty. “Criminal proceedings are still ongoing, and there remains reasonable suspicion,” the ministry said in a statement, as quoted by Denník N.
Interior minister should apologise, says Varga’s lawyer
Critics argue that the minister is ignoring his own guidelines, which state that suspensions should be lifted once the legal grounds for them — specifically, the existence of a formal charge — no longer apply. Varga’s lawyer, Peter Kubina, has called for his immediate reinstatement, repayment of lost wages and a public apology, accusing the minister of acting unlawfully.
On 1 July, Interior Minister Šutaj Eštok wrote on Facebook: “Today another former ‘elite’ NAKA police officer has been charged and detained. According to the charges, it can be assumed that he was involved in a politically motivated witch-hunt, fabricating evidence and abusing his position…” (source: Facebook - Matúš Šutaj Eštok)
The inspectorate claimed that Varga had improperly ordered an “operational file” to be opened on Žilinka and Kandera in April 2022, at a time when prosecutors were considering whether to authorise the pre-trial detention of opposition leader Robert Fico. Fico, now the country’s prime minister, was then facing corruption charges. Parliament ultimately refused to lift his immunity.
Reday found no evidence that Varga’s instructions interfered with the general prosecutor’s work. He stressed that operational surveillance is by nature exploratory and that suspicion does not equal fabrication. To prove wrongdoing, the prosecutor wrote, investigators would have had to demonstrate that Varga had knowingly invented or manipulated evidence — which the file did not show.
Varga’s supporters say the case is part of a wider campaign against officers who investigated corruption allegations involving senior political figures linked to former Smer-led governments. All remain suspended from duty.
The inspectorate has said it is still studying the prosecutor’s ruling.
In theory, Varga could be charged again, but given the assessment of the evidence gathered so far, it is unlikely that prosecutors would succeed.
