Linhart: I Know of No Charges and It's Absurd for Me to Find Out from Media

Bratislava, August 15 (TASR) - MP Patrick Linhart (We Are Family) isn't aware that any charges have been pressed against him, and he finds it absurd to learn such news from the media, TASR reported on Monday. Linhart faces charges of perjury and defamation of character by slander. "This investigator seeking a vendetta against me was in the past supposed to represent me in a lawsuit that I filed over a discreditation campagin led against me. But this investigator thwarted the investigation, prompting me to sue the state now," claimed the lawmaker. According to Linhart, the police officer whom he allagedly slandered even physically assaulted him, an act for which he was disciplined by the Internal Affairs Inspectorate. "That's why I'm shocked that charges have been allegedly pressed against me based on some trumped-up criminal complaint fabricated by this police officer," said Linhart, adding that such a course of action constitutes the misuse of public official's powers. "I will seek legal redress for purpose-built smearing of my good reputation." In 2020, Linhart posted a status on Facebook in which he accused a certain police officer of assaulting him. The MP claimed that he told the officer that he should be wearing a face mask, to which the officer responded with violence. Following the incident, Linhart filed a criminal complaint against the officer, which was allegedly dealt with by the Interior Ministry's Inspectorate. The ministry later confirmed that the incident didn't qualify as a crime, but the officer was subjected to a disciplinary hearing over a potential violation of conduct regulations. Soon after, the officer filed a criminal complaint against Linhart, accusing him of false reporting. mf/df