Court: Three Defendants Suspected of Neo-Nazi Activities Taken into Custody

Bratislava/Banska Bystrica, May 22 (TASR) - A pre-trial judge of the Specialized Criminal Court has decided to put three defendants in custody with respect to suspected activity of a neo-Nazi group operating in the Bratislava area, TASR learnt from court spokesperson Katarina Kudjakova on Thursday. The judge thus upheld the prosecutor’s request. The reason for the custody is concern over the possibility of continued criminal activity, with the decision being final for two of the defendants. „The pre-trial judge did not replace custody with supervision by a probation officer. The court's decision is not final in the case of one defendant, who filed an appeal that will be decided by the Supreme Court. For the other two defendants, the court's decision is final," Kudjakova added in a statement. During Tuesday’s (May 20) operation, police detained 20 individuals from the neo-Nazi group Valhalla, and 14 people were formally charged. On Thursday, the prosecutor of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Bratislava proposed custody for three of the defendants for preventive reasons. All three individuals had previously been lawfully convicted of intentional crimes, and two of them had also been convicted of extremist offenses. mf