Seliga: Charges against Me Dropped by Prosecutor

Bratislava, May 6 (TASR) - Charges of incitement against Juraj Seliga, vice-chair of the non-parliamentary 'Democrats' party, have been reportedly dropped, TASR learnt on Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference, Seliga confirmed this, adding that he learnt about the decision after visiting the police in Galanta to collect the official paperwork charging him. He was reportedly informed there that the charges had been dropped by the prosecutor’s office due to their illegality. Seliga underlined that the charges were a politically motivated attempt to intimidate him. "I consider this to be an attempt to silence us, to intimidate us, and to abuse criminal law against the political opposition," he remarked. He also spoke of a violation of the law. "The prosecutor wrote that the criminal prosecution — meaning the charges — were initiated prematurely, in contradiction with established facts, and were insufficiently justified," noted Seliga. He pointed out, for example, that the investigator had not questioned either him or David Lindtner, the adviser to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) who had filed the criminal complaint. At the end of April, the police stated that they were still dealing with Seliga’s case as part of preliminary proceedings. At the time, they didn't comment on the media reports concerning the charges, which were said to be connected to Seliga's speech in front of the house in Velka Maca, Trnava region where journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee were murdered. mf/df