Doctor Faces Trial for Urging Public to Ignore COVID Rules, Claims Innocence

Bratislava, 19 June (TASR) - Doctor Peter L., who called on the public not to comply with COVID-19 measures at a public gathering in December 2020, denies any wrongdoing, as the main trial began on Thursday at the Bratislava I District Court, where he faces charges of incitement. "I'm innocent," Peter L. emphasised, stating that his case can't be considered incitement. He claimed that the motive behind his statements was the protection of people's lives and health. He asserts that the pandemic didn't exist and considers the decrees of the Public Health Authority, which regulated measures against the spread of COVID-19, to be legally null and void. "A legal obligation can only be imposed by law, not by decrees based on a law," the defendant said. Therefore, in his opinion, no one was obliged to wear a mask, get tested, or be vaccinated against COVID-19. After the defendant's testimony, the main trial was adjourned on Thursday afternoon until 19 August, when it will continue with the reading of documentary evidence. The indictment was filed over a statement made by Peter L. at a gathering in Bratislava. "Let’s do everything the opposite of what they ask. Let’s gather, not wear masks, not get tested, and not get vaccinated if there is no guarantee of the vaccine’s safety," ha said back then. Peter L.’s defence considers the indictment unlawful, incomplete, and unfounded. lin/mcs