Justice Minister Viera Petríková took further action in the wake of the escape by a prisoner from the Palace of Justice on February 26 – she dismissed the chief executive of the open section of the Institute for the Execution of Custody in Bratislava on March 1 but she did not reveal his name, the TASR newswire wrote. This follows the immediate dismissal of the director of the Institute, Jozef Mikula, on Friday.
Petríková’s latest decision came after an inspection was carried out by the general director of the Prison and Justice Guard Corps, Mária Kreslová. The minister said that she would consider filing a criminal report citing either corruption or the abuse of public powers. She sees no reason to dismiss Kreslová, however.
Prime Minister Robert Fico called for more effective screening procedures when it comes to choosing prisoners to carry out such jobs, adding that checks are needed to determine whether others have failed in their duty. If so, Petríková will have to act resolutely, he said.
The man who fled from the Palace of Justice is still on the lam and was doing cleaning work at the Palace of Justice in an unguarded workplace. The incident occurred only three days after a similar escape from Leopoldov prison in which a 37-year-old convict sentenced for tax fraud fled an unguarded workplace. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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