The former mayor of the Rača district of Bratislava, Pavol Bielik, made no concrete steps that would show that he had demanded a bribe for his “surplus labour”, a senate of the Slovak Supreme Court ruled on September 30, the SITA newswire reported.
The Supreme Court senate acquitted Bielik of the charge of corruption and found there was no evidence that unambiguously proved that Bielik asked for a bribe. The court wrote that Bielik did not speak to any member of a commission that was to decide about the application for a construction license as alleged by the chief witness against Bielek. The court came to the conclusion that Bielik created no space to ask for a bribe. The verdict of a Supreme Court senate cannot normally be appealed.
The senate said there was insufficient evidence in this case and stressed that it did not want to create a precedent when businessmen who fail to obtain licenses or fail with their business plans make accusations against mayors.
Jaroslav Š. who testified in this trial said that he had asked the chair of the board of directors of the Invest In company in 2004 to give a million Slovak crown bribe (€165,970) for securing the approval of then-Mayor Pavol Bielik and for Bielik to make sure the local council would approve the license and the town-planning design to reconstruct one building and build four houses in the Pri vinohradoch neighbourhood.
Bielik refused to talk to media after the trial.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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