UIS Wants to Interrogate Lawyer Kubina as Witness, Kubina Rejects This

Bratislava, 3 March (TASR) - Lawyer Peter Kubina, who represents the police officers known as the 'Curilla group' in several cases, wrote on a social network on Tuesday that investigators in the case of the current 'Operation Cooperating Defendant' conducted by the Internal Affairs Inspectorate's (UIS) Veritas team on Tuesday are obstructing his clients' right to a defence and free choice of legal counsel. He explained that his duties as defence lawyer in this case have had to be taken over by his colleagues, because UIS wants to interrogate him as a witness. However, Kubina pointed out that, under the Code of Criminal Procedure, he cannot testify due to his role as their defence lawyer. "First, if I were a witness to any criminal activity, I know what I'm supposed to do, and I would report such activity properly and on my own initiative. In that case, I would have the status of a witness-whistleblower," stated Kubina. He added that it is explicitly prohibited to interrogate a lawyer as a witness. "As my questioning can only concern facts that I could have learned while carrying out a client's defence, a statutory ban on interrogation applies to me. The gentlemen from the Veritas team know this very well, or rather they ought to know it," he said. Kubina believes that he'll be able to join the defence team soon if that is still necessary. UIS conducted 'Operation Cooperating Defendant' on Tuesday, with an investigator of UIS's specialised Veritas team detaining and charging four current and two former police officers, plus one civilian, with extortion and abuse of power by a public official, allegedly committed in an organised manner. In addition to those charged, two other suspects have been detained as well. jrg/df