PG Zilinka Overturns Decision Regarding Equipment Donation to Ukraine

Bratislava, 30 October (TASR) - Prosecutor-General (PG) Maros Zilinka has overturned a decision by which the prosecution service dropped an investigation into the donation of military equipment to Ukraine, instructing the regional prosecutor in Trencin to handle the case further by reinitiating a criminal investigation and ensuring that pre-trial proceedings are conducted in accordance with the law, Zilinka has posted on social media. Based on a review of decisions regarding investigations into the donation of military equipment to Ukraine during the previous election term, concerning which law-enforcement authorities discontinued several criminal prosecutions, Zilinka instructed them to take further action. "After reviewing the case, I arrived at the conclusion that the decision to discontinue the criminal investigation had been issued prematurely. During the pre-trial proceedings, the facts of the case weren't established to the extent necessary for a decision, in particular with regard to the elements of the crimes under investigation," stated Zilinka. He added that he's reviewed decisions by the Bratislava Regional Prosecutor's Office and the PG Office's Serious Crimes Department, as well as by an investigator from the Police Corps Presidium. According to information provided by law-enforcement authorities in February of this year, three out of four criminal investigations related to assistance to Ukraine during the previous electoral term had been closed. Cases concerning the donation of MiG-29 fighter jets, the S-300 air-defence system and the termination of a contract with a Russian company servicing the jets were closed either by halting criminal proceedings or rejecting criminal complaints. The Defence Ministry responded by saying that it would file a motion to review the decisions. At that time, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said that the prosecution service had entered the political battle on the side of the opposition. According to him, head of the Regional Prosecutor's Office Rastislav Remeta was trying to show the opposition that he's a suitable candidate to become the next prosecutor-general. In September, the Prosecutor-General's Office stated that it had reviewed decisions by the police and the Bratislava Regional Prosecutor's Office in the case involving the donation of military equipment to Ukraine and concluded that, based on the conclusions arrived at by the Serious Crime Department at that time, the decisions were correct and in accordance with the law. Former defence minister (2020-23) and leader of the extra-parliamentary Democrats party Jaroslav Nad declared that, when donating military equipment to Ukraine, the former government acted in accordance with Slovak and international law, including the Chapter of the United Nations, as the UN Chapter states that there is an obligation to help a country under attack. jrg/df