Sutaj Estok Respects Court's Ruling in Pavol D.'s Case, Intends to File Appeal

Bratislava, 19 November (TASR) - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) respects the ruling of the Bratislava Administrative Court, which on Wednesday quashed the minister's earlier personnel decision to suspend former National Crime Agency (NAKA) investigator Pavol D. (name abbreviated due to legal reasons) from duty, TASR has reported based on the minister's answer to a question by a journalist. "Nevertheless, we'll file an appeal because we're convinced of the correctness of our procedure," he added. "I acknowledge the court's ruling that in seven out of eight cases courts decided to deal with the preliminary question, and no hearing was scheduled for the other members of the 'Curilla group'. In this case the court, or the senate, scheduled a hearing. It announced its ruling, and we will, of course, file an appeal and defend ourselves against it by legal means, but I respect it," said Sutaj Estok. Information about the court's ruling, which annulled Sutaj Estok's decision to suspend Pavol D. from duty, was published on social media by the investigator's lawyer Peter Kubina on Wednesday. After taking up office in 2023, Sutaj Estok suspended several police officers, including those centred around investigator Jan Curilla, on suspicion that they had committed a crime. However, as the investigators had protected whistleblower status, the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers said that the minister should have consulted this issue with the office in advance. jrg/df