THE ALLEGEDLY Slovak Miroslav Roháč who was detained for participating among pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine is not a member of the Slovak army, spokesman of the Slovak Armed Forces (OS) Štefan Zemanovič told the TASR newswire.
“Currently, this man is not a member of the Slovak army; and the armed forces principally do not comment on activities of private persons,” Zemanovič said on August 19.
Anton Heraschenko, the Ukrainian interior minister’s adviser, informed on the detention of a Slovak on the same day, as quoted by the Russian Interfax newswire.
“A citizen of the European Union of Serbian origin who has Slovak citizenship and is an inhabitant of Banská Bystrica was detained near the locomotive depot in Ilovaysk,” Heraschenko said, adding that he had a Slovak passport bearing the name Miroslav Roháč and a stamp confirming that he crossed the Ukrainian border at the international airport Zhulyany on July 3, 2014. Heraschenko published the information on his Facebook profile, after talks with head of the Donbas battalion, Semion Semenchek. Heraschenko added that this was the first time an EU-member state’s citizen was detained fighting on the side of the rebels, as proven by official documents.
Miroslav Roháč of Banská Bystrica, a former soldier of the Slovak army, is at home and has never been to Ukraine, he claimed for TASR, adding that he has a passport at home – however, it has been expired for more than two years.
Roháč added for TASR that his identity might have been stolen and that the unwanted publicity that he has been facing this week is detrimental: media publish his private photos from social networks saying that he is alleged to have joined the separatist militias.
Roháč said that he has no explanation for the error, save for a forged passport and stolen identity. He claims his reputation has been damaged and even strangers frown at him in the street after his photos had been published by media.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
