PG Zilinka: Gelnica Tragedy Highlights Need for Work with Offenders

Bratislava, 24 June (TASR) - The tragedy in Gelnica highlights the need for genuine, systematic work with offenders, particularly those suffering from substance addiction, Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka stated on Wednesday in response to the brutal attack that took place over the weekend. "The tragedy in Gelnica points to the necessity of real, systematic work with offenders, especially when they suffer from substance addiction, rather than merely simulating such efforts," Zilinka wrote on social media. Zuzana V. [the name abbreviated due to legal reasons] was killed in the brutal attack in Gelnica on Saturday (20 June). The attacker fled the scene immediately after the incident. Police later detained the suspect on a rural road near Kosice. The man was charged with the particularly serious crime of murder, and prosecutors also filed a motion seeking his remand in custody. On Tuesday (23 June), a judge of the Kosice City Court ordered the accused into so-called flight-risk and preventive detention. Earlier on 9 June, the District Court in Spisska Nova Ves handed the attacker, Tomas V., an eight-month suspended sentence for making dangerous threats. Until then, he had been held in custody as a suspect in a criminal case involving dangerous threats after he attacked his wife while under the influence of alcohol on 21 February. mf/mcs