Supreme Court Upholds Acquittal of PM Fico's Adviser Lindtner (2)

Bratislava, 3 November (TASR) - The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of David Lindtner, a former judge, lawyer and adviser to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), at a public hearing on Tuesday, dismissing the prosecutor's appeal against his acquittal by the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in April, TASR reported on the same day. The Supreme Court found no errors that would warrant overturning the verdict and refer the case back to STS. According to the appellate court, it's inadmissible to establish guilt or conviction solely on the basis of a single piece of evidence. "This indictment should never have come to court in the first place," stated Marian Macura, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court panel. "I'm convinced that this panel is aware that a criminal prosecution should never even have been initiated, nor charges pressed," stated Lindtner after the public hearing, criticising certain media outlets, which, he claimed, distort reality. Jan Hrivnak, a prosecutor from the Prosecutor-General's Office, admitted that the taking of evidence wasn't flawless. In response to the court's ruling, he told the media that everything is clear and that no more words are needed. Lindtner faced charges of interfering with judicial independence and indirect corruption. According to STS, it wasn't clearly proven that the alleged acts occurred as stated in the indictment. In an appeal, the prosecutor proposed overturning the verdict and referring the case back to STS. The former judge maintained his innocence, stating that the acts that he was accused of didn't occur and couldn't have objectively taken place. According to him, for each of the three alleged offences there was only one piece of evidence in the form of a testimony from a single witness. Lindtner also spoke of unlawful benefits provided to witnesses Miriam Repakova and Vladimir Sklenka, and proposed dismissing the prosecutor's appeal against the first-instance verdict. The prosecutor filed charges against Lindtner in July 2022. A single STS judge initially rejected the indictment, but the prosecutor lodged a complaint. The Supreme Court overturned the lower court's decision and instructed it to rehear and decide on the case. NOTE: This story has been updated in paragraph 3 and extended to include paragraphs 4 and 5 jrg/df