Police Investigators Jan C. and Pavol D. to Be Prosecuted at Large (2)

Bratislava, 16 March (TASR) - Bratislava Region Court on Monday ruled that police investigators Jan C. and Pavol D. [names abbreviated due to legal reasons] will be prosecuted at large, thus rejecting an appeal by a prosecutor from Trnava Region Prosecutor's Office, who had sought to have them remanded in custody. The court ruling was based on the fact that the motion to remand in custody police officers who investigated high-profile corruption cases in the past had been filed by the prosecutor with an incorrect court. Subsequently, the court didn't deal with the actual grounds for their custody and its decision is final. The motion was supposed to be submitted to Trnava District Court. According to the presiding judge of the Bratislava Region Court senate, the prosecutor didn't comply with standard procedure when he filed the motion with Bratislava I City Court. He added that the pre-trial judge acted correctly by ruling on the case rather than referring the motion for custody to a different court. According to the regional court, "a pre-trial judge, even if lacking jurisdiction, must decide on a motion for custody". The court also rejected the prosecutor's argument that the motion was filed with Bratislava I City Court because the majority of the alleged crimes occurred at the Police Corps Presidium in Bratislava. Prosecutor Michal Zenuch told journalists that he respects the court's decision but will consider the option of filing an extraordinary appeal. The accused police officers Jan C. and Pavol D. have welcomed the ruling. "I'm pleased that the senate released us and that it accepted our arguments and, so to speak, publicly humiliated the prosecutor, who, after three years' work couldn't even identify the right court," said Jan C. Meanwhile, Pavol D. ruled out that they had ever committed any criminal activity and stressed that everything they did was done lawfully. Their lawyer Jan Dulovic accepts the fact that, given the jurisdictional error, the regional court did not deal with the grounds for custody or the criminal prosecution itself. "This was one of the possibilities we anticipated. I basically accept that. As the regional court, in my view, has dealt more than thoroughly with all the grounds of the appeal and rejected every point raised by the prosecutor, I believe that doing more was neither necessary nor appropriate," added Dulovic. On 6 March, Bratislava I City Court released the two police officers from custody on the grounds that the prosecutor filed the motion with a court that didn't have jurisdiction, while the court also cast doubt on the validity of the charges and grounds for custody. Subsequently, the prosecutor appealed against the court's decision. Jan C. and Pavol D. were detained in early March as part of the Internal Affairs Inspectorate's (UIS) 'Operation Cooperating Defendant'. The motion for the prosecution in custody of Jan C. and Pavol D. was filed by a UIS investigator on the grounds of potential collusion. He claimed that the accused could influence witnesses, experts, their co-accused or otherwise obstruct the investigation. The prosecutor agreed with the motion and submitted the custody proposal to the court on 5 March. Other detainees, including Prosecutor-General's Office prosecutor Michal S. and police officers Branislav D., Robert M. and Roman S., were released after questioning on 4 March. They will be prosecuted at liberty. During Operation Cooperating Defendant on 3 March, the police inspectorate detained and charged four current and two former police officers as well as one prosecutor. They face charges of extortion and the misuse of powers by a public official, allegedly committed in an organised manner. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 5 to 8 jrg/df