Mariatchi bar in Nitra (source: SME)
The courts have issued the first strict punishment in the infamous case of the neo-Nazi attack in front of the Mariatchi bar in downtown Nitra, the Denník N daily reported.
The district court in Nitra has sentenced Ján Ď., one of the attackers in the Mariatchi beating case, to six and a half years in prison to be served at a minimum security institution. Moreover, the owner of the bar should receive compensation amounting to €4,000, the SITA newswire wrote.
The case goes back to 2013. During the incident which happened on New Year’s Eve 2013, a group of neo-Nazis assaulted the bar’s owner Radovan Richtárik. They first wanted to get into the bar and were hitting the door. When Richtárik came out to take a picture of them, they threw him to the ground and started kicking him. It left Richtárik with serious injuries and he had to be hospitalised.
Ján Ď. claimed before the court that “I was only kicking him in the head”, Denník N wrote.
“A defence based only on the claim that ‘I was only kicking the injured man in the head’ is absolutely incomprehensible; it is impossible to drop charges against the accused,” the judge said, as quoted by Denník N.
Ján Ď. appealed the verdict. It is interesting that at first he agreed to confess his guilt and accept four years in prison. He however later changed lawyers and then refused to accept the agreement.
This is not the first punishment issued in the case. The court issued a six-month conditional sentence with a one-year suspension for another attacker, František P., who was found guilty of punching the bar owner in the face which resulted in his falling to the ground where Ján Ď. kicked him and broke his leg.
The attackers face further charges for the previous attack on waiters and customers of the Mariatchi bar that happened in October 2013. In that case altogether five people face charges. The courts however have not launched the main trial as they are still waiting for an expert opinion, Denník N wrote.
The only person sentenced in this latter case is former professional soldier Tomáš S. whose verdict was issued in September 2014. At the time, the soldier made a deal as to his guilt and punishment and was fined €400 and dismissed from the army.
