A prosecutor from Levice (Nitra Region), identified by police only as Dana Z., who is accused of accepting bribes and abuse of public office, claimed during a hearing at the Specialised Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica on Tuesday, January 29, that she is innocent.
According to the indictment, the prosecutor agreed to receive a bribe of €20,000 in exchange for terminating the criminal prosecution of certain accused persons. The agreement was supposed to have been reached back in 2011 at a restaurant in Levice where she was also given unspecified jewellery. The prosecutor claimed that her daughter's private English teacher, whose name was given only as Monika V., asked her for a meeting and showed up along with Jozefina T., whose husband Rastislav T. is on trial for blackmail and usury. Dana Z., 47, said that she had no intention of interfering in the investigation, nor did she ask for or receive any bribe.
Since, during preliminary questioning, she claimed that she had received €4,000 as a loan, she was asked to explain the inconsistency between her initial statement and that given in court. Dana Z. explained to the court that she was afraid of being taken into custody and so lied to the judge during the preliminary hearing and claimed to have taken the money. The prosecutor stressed that she had felt under pressure from police ever since her arrest. "She doesn't feel guilty and I'm confident that she'll prove she's not [guilty]," said her lawyer. The case continues.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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