Foreign Ministry: Belgian Court Rejects Family's Appeal in Chovanec Death Case

Bratislava, 20 March (TASR) - The Justice and Foreign Affairs Ministries take note of the decision by the Belgian Court of Appeal in the city of Mons to dismiss the family's appeal regarding the death of Slovak national Jozef Chovanec following an incident at Charleroi Airport in Belgium, declaring that Slovakia is continuing proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), TASR was told by the Foreign Ministry on Friday. "We respect the court's decision, but we consider it to be necessary to express our regret that, despite the unusually lengthy proceedings, the court didn't take into account in its ruling the arguments and relevant facts presented through expert opinions prepared at the request of the Slovak Justice Ministry," said Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD). Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) noted that Chovanec's family has been unable to obtain justice in Belgian courts for eight years. "And although the Slovak Republic always respects the independence of the courts and their decisions, we can't pretend that everything is fine. Following the incident at the Belgian airport, a citizen of the Slovak Republic died under circumstances that haven't been fully explained so far, without any criminal liability being established against specific individuals or organisations, which is absolutely unacceptable to us," he stated, adding that Slovakia will continue the procedure initiated by the current government upon taking office. Slovak national Jozef Chovanec, 38, died after being arrested by the Belgian federal police at Charleroi airport in February 2018. In 2020, leaked video footage from the cell in which he was detained showed airport police officers kneeling on Chovanec's neck for more than 15 minutes, while one of them gave a Nazi salute during the act, much to the amusement of her colleagues. According to an expert analysis by Belgian doctors, the cause of his death was swelling of the brain, which he suffered after repeatedly banging his head against a wall in a detention cell. A Belgian court in September 2024 ruled that no individual is criminally responsible for the death of Chovanec, stating that it was a regrettable coincidence of tragic circumstances. Foreign Minister Blanar described the decision as scandalous at the time and announced that the Slovak Republic would file a complaint against the ruling with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. On 27 February, Slovakia filed an inter-state application with the European Court of Human Rights against the Kingdom of Belgium in connection with Chovanec's death at Charleroi Airport. am