Ex-SNS Leader Jan Slota's Sentence Overturned and Prosecution Halted

Bratislava, 9 June (TASR) - The conviction handed down by a first-instance court against Jan Slota, former leader of the Slovak National Party (SNS) and former Zilina mayor, has been overturned, and criminal proceedings in the indirect corruption case have been dropped due to the statute of limitations, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. However, Slota may insist on a hearing of the case. The ex-SNS leader didn't appear in court to hear the verdict. "No appeal is admissible against this ruling; but criminal proceedings will continue if the defendant declares within three days of being notified of the ruling to discontinue criminal proceedings that he insists on the case being heard," stated the presiding judge of a Supreme Court chamber. According to the indictment, Slota allegedly arranged a more lenient sentence at Zilina Regional Court by bribing convicted ex-judge Pavol Polka in favour of a man who had received an unconditional sentence from a first-instance court. Slota called the indictment unfounded and based on unlawfully obtained evidence. The Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Banska Bystrica in 2024 found Slota guilty of indirect corruption, giving him a two-year suspended sentence with a four-year probation period. Both his lawyer and the prosecutor immediately appealed against this in court. STS had already decided on the case once before, sentencing Slota to the same two-year suspended sentence and a four-year probation period in June 2023, but only for interfering in the independence of a court. The court failed to prove corrupt activities, as there was a lack of unambiguous evidence. However, the Supreme Court annulled the first verdict and returned the case to STS. The Supreme Court stated in November 2023 that STS had failed to deal with all circumstances relevant to its decision and, at the same time, reached conclusions that weren't logically justified. am/df