Prosecutor: Doctor Peter L. Should Be Found Guilty of Incitement during Pandemic

Bratislava, 19 August (TASR) - Doctor Peter L. (name abbreviated due to legal reasons), who is facing charges of incitement over statements that he made at a public gathering in 2020 against measures to combat COVID-19, should be found guilty and given an appropriate sentence, said the prosecutor in his closing statement at Bratislava I Municipal Court on Tuesday. The verdict is expected to be announced on Friday (22 August). According to the prosecutor, the defendant should be ordered to pay a fine of some €3,000 or, if he fails to do so, be given a prison sentence of no less than three months. As an alternative punishment, the prosecutor proposed a suspended prison sentence of no less than six months with a two-year probationary period. Requesting to be acquitted, the defendant argued that the indictment was unlawful, incomplete and incomprehensible. In its closing statement, the defence argued that the intent of the alleged crime had not been demonstrated, as "the defendant publicly advocated protection of health". Peter L. defended his public statements by insisting that there was no pandemic and, for that reason, he had called on people to gather. "Why was there no pandemic? There was no incidence. The mortality rate wasn't a threat to people. I urged people not to get tested. If a person is healthy, there's no reason to be tested. I urged people not to get vaccinated with a vaccine that had no safety guarantees," he said in his closing argument. During the main hearing, an audio recording of his statements from the public gathering was also played. For instance, he claimed that testing was the cause of the pandemic, and that testing only increased the number of positive results, not the number of sick people. Commenting on the audio recording, Peter L. said that he opposed "a fascist regime" and legislation that, in his opinion, had led to tens of thousands of deaths. At the gathering in Bratislava in December 2020, Peter L. urged people to "do the opposite of what they're asking. Let's gather, let's not wear masks, let's not get tested, let's not get vaccinated when there's no guarantee of safety". jrg/df/mf