'Democrats' Fully Support Nad, Speak of Police Misuse in Political Battle

Bratislava, 18 June (TASR) - The 'Democrats' party fully supports its chairman and former defence minister Jaroslav Nad in connection with donations of ammunition to Ukraine, stressing that it respects the investigation of the European Public Prosecutor's Office and is fully cooperating with law-enforcement bodies, party representatives told a press conference on Wednesday. The 'Democrats' are convinced that the prosecution service didn't order the detention of Nad or other people. They spoke about the misuse of the police for the sake of a political battle. In this way, they say, the government is trying to cover up its own failures. According to the party, Nad is facing an attempt to unjustifiably criminalise him. "I want to say that we as a party stand behind Jaroslav Nad - the chairman, and I as a former prime minister stand behind my former defence minister. The steps we took were correct, legal, they went through all stages and all institutions as they should have, they fulfilled the legislative process, and so we aren't afraid of any investigation," said 'Democrats' vice-chair and ex-premier Eduard Heger. The Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK) is carrying out several raids throughout Slovakia in connection with the Donor team on Wednesday. A criminal investigation into the case was initiated by a prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). A special investigation team called 'Donor' was formed at UBOK in November 2024. Its formation was instigated by a Supreme Audit Office (NKU) report concerning donations of military equipment to Ukraine and discrepancies in the data on the donated property. Then defence minister Jaroslav Nad, who is currently the chairman of 'Democrats' party, has denied any accusation of wrongdoing. He's currently visiting Canada. am/df