Sutaj Estok Welcomes PG's Decision Not to Drop Charges against NAKA Officers

Bratislava, 3 November (TASR) - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) has welcomed Prosecutor-General (PG) Maros Zilinka's decision not to drop the charges against police officers of the former National Crime Agency (NAKA), Pavol D., Jan C. and Lubomir D. and prosecutor Michal S. in line with paragraph 363. According to Sutaj Estok, the lawfulness of the actions taken by investigators of the Internal Affairs Inspectorate concerning the matter has thereby been confirmed. "The investigators have acted independently, in line with the law and haven't let themselves be intimidated by attempts to influence justice," the minister has posted on a social network. PG Maros Zilinka has rejected a proposal by the former NAKA police officers and the prosecutor to drop the charges against them in line with paragraph 363. During the examination of the case, no violation of the law has been found that would justify annulling the contested decision during pre-trial proceedings, PG Office's spokesperson Zuzana Drobova told TASR earlier on Monday. According to the PG, the facts found during the current stage of the criminal proceedings sufficiently justify the criminal prosecution of the people charged with the crime of misusing the powers of a public official by complicity. In the summer of 2024, the Internal Affairs Inspectorate pressed charges of misusing a public official's powers against Michal S. over a criminal case that Michal S. had supervised as a prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor's Office, which was dissolved by Parliament in 2024. Three investigators of the now-dissolved NAKA are facing the same charges. ko/df