THE GENERAL Prosecutor’s Office is taking steps to avoid paying the €150,000 awarded to Supreme Court Chairman Štefan Harabin based on a verdict recently confirmed by the Bratislava Regional Court in the case of Harabin’s alleged phone call with drug lord Baki Sadiki.
An appeal and an extraordinary appeal have been filed by the General Prosecutor’s Office, which will be decided upon by the Supreme Court, the SITA newswire reported on December 4.
Harabin reacted by saying that the extraordinary appeal is unacceptable in this case because the Prosecutor’s office is one of the participants of the case, so it could be seen as discrimination against other participants in the case.
The Bratislava Regional Court earlier this year upheld a lower court verdict, which in September 2012 ruled that the General Prosecutor’s Office erred by confirming that a recording of an alleged 1994 phone conversation between Harabin and drug-lord Baki Sadiki formed part of a request by the then head of its criminal department to have Harabin excluded from decision-making in cases involving Sadiki. The court awarded Harabin €150,000 in damages for what it called an incorrect official proceeding.
Yet, shortly after breaking the story on Harabin’s award, the Sme daily reported on November 8 that the Bratislava Regional Court first cancelled the decision to pay €150,000 to Harabin, but after changes were made to the composition of the judicial senate the decision was upheld.
Source: SITA, TASR, Sme
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
