Gaspar Denies He's Helping Himself in Own Case; Coalition Stands behind Him (2)

Bratislava, 9 June (TASR) - The entire governing coalition, as well as Smer-SD lawmakers, stand behind Parliamentary Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD), head of the Smer-SD parliamentary caucus Jan Richter stated after the motion to remove Gaspar from office failed to proceed in Parliament. The opposition sought to remove Gaspar in connection with his involvement in the Purgatory scandal. Gaspar denied that adopted changes to criminal legislation pertained to his case and that he's used them to his advantage in the proceedings. Richter reiterated that the no-confidence motion in Gaspar is primarily in the interests of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, which wants to cover up its problems regarding the family of the party leader, Michal Simecka. "The trial of House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar has begun in court; it has taken on specific form, and we believe that it will reach a successful conclusion in a relatively short time. We fully respect the parliamentary vice-chair and the presumption of innocence; the entire Smer-SD parliamentary caucus stands behind him," he stressed. "Of the matters that concerned me, all were decided before the first amendment to criminal law adopted by this Parliament, and no decision was based on moves made by me to exploit any changes in the laws," said Gaspar in response to the opposition's arguments that he might be using his post in the House to push for measures that could have a direct or indirect connection to his own criminal case. "As for this latest matter, as no decision has yet been made in the case, I consider it to be irresponsible, premature and nonsensical to speculate here about whether a recent amendment might affect me," said Gaspar in connection with the Purgatory case. "So, I reject the notion that I've been helping myself in procedural terms in any way. That isn't true. Among other things, laws here aren't passed by Tibor Gaspar, but by a parliamentary majority, which is more than 76 votes," he added. Richter stated that if PS submits another motion to remove Gaspar at the next session, Smer-SD will "very seriously" discuss with its coalition partners the possibility of submitting a motion to dismiss Martin Dubeci (PS) from his post of parliamentary vice-chair. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) had already announced this. Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko responded that if there are serious grounds for Dubeci's ouster, this can be discussed within the coalition. Danko stated that it shouldn't be done in a 'tit-for-tat' manner, adding that so far, Smer-SD hasn't presented his party with anything relevant regarding Dubeci. According to him, colleagues in Voice-SD share this stance. Dubeci doesn't view a coalition attempt to remove him as significant. "Slovakia doesn't stand or fall depending on whether I'm the deputy speaker of Parliament; it stands or falls on the fact that it has an indicted parliamentary vice-chair, Gaspar," he said in response. Danko also emphasised that until a person is convicted, they should be viewed as someone who hasn't broken the law. MPs on Tuesday afternoon didn't begin deliberations at a special session on the removal of House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) from office, as they rejected the session's agenda. The opposition sought to remove Gaspar in connection with his involvement in the Purgatory scandal. The trial in the Purgatory case, involving allegations concerning the formation and operation of a criminal group within the highest ranks of the police and security bodies between 2012-2018, began at the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Banska Bystrica on Monday (8 June). Gaspar served as Police Corps president from 2012 to 2018. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 6-9. am/df