Kubina: Boris Kollar Must Apologise for 'Curilla Mafia' Statements (2)

Bratislava, 31 March (TASR) - Bratislava Regional Court has ruled that former House chair (2020-23) Boris Kollar (We Are Family) must issue a public apology to police officer Jan Curilla for his statement about the 'Curilla mafia' and pay €50,000 in non-pecuniary damages, as well as full legal costs, TASR reported on Tuesday based on a post published on a social network by Curilla's attorney Peter Kubina. By its decision, the court dismissed the defendant's appeal and upheld the verdict handed down by Bratislava IV City Court over a year ago. According to Kubina, the verdict will become final once served to both parties. "We trust that the defendant will now settle this voluntarily, without us needing to enforce the judgment through a distraint procedure. The first-instance court's verdict was exceptionally well reasoned, so even switching lawyers for the appeal didn't help the defendant. We also appreciate the fact that the appellate court dealt with the appeal quite quickly," stated Kubina. Bratislava Regional Court spokesperson Pavol Adamciak told TASR that the appellate court upheld the contested first-instance court's ruling in points I to IV of the operative part of the judgment, by which the court partly ruled in the plaintiff's favour. "The appellate court assessed the defendant's arguments as unfounded and upheld the ruling of the first-instance court in the contested part as correct in substance," stated Adamciak. On 21 February 2025, Kubina confirmed that Bratislava IV City Court had ruled in Curilla's favour, as it found Kollar's statement about the 'Curilla mafia' slanderous and a violation of Curilla's good reputation as well as indirectly those of his colleagues from the former National Crime Agency (NAKA). At that time, Kollar's attorney conceded that he might appeal against the verdict. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 4 and 5. jrg/df