MP charged with slander against PM

MP charged with slander against PM

A prosecutor at the Bratislava Regional Prosecutor's Office has pressed charges of slander against MP Igor Matovič over his claims that Prime Minister Robert Fico had secret accounts in Belize. According to the prosecutor's office's spokesman Michal Šúrek, the charges were pressed on September 14, after the police in the summer concluded their investigation with a recommendation to press charges against the MP. "I've never commented on the decisions of law-enforcement authorities, and I won't do it, either," said Fico.

In 2015, Matovič posted information on his social network website received from an anonymous source, according to which Fico and his spouse founded a letterbox company in Belize and had €575 million stashed away in its two banking accounts. Fico rejected this as nonsense. Verifying the case via its financial intelligence unit in Belize, police discovered that neither Fico nor his wife have ever had any personal or business accounts in Belize.

In response to the fact that the Prosecutor's Office proposed to raise charges against him over slandering Prime Minister Robert Fico, Igor Matovič said: "This lawsuit is not about me; it's rather a finger raised at all people in Slovakia". The MP declared that he wasn't surprised by the lawsuit. "We live in a state where some people believe that they own the truth, just because they own the police and the Prosecutor's Office," he claimed, adding that if such a "rule of law" sentences him to jail, he stands ready to serve his time. "It will be the punishment for the fact that I have always sought and will seek truth in politics."

The defendant's lawyer Daniel Lipsic also objected to what he perceives as double standards employed by law enforcement towards his client and Prime Minister Fico. He pointed out to Fico's earlier statements accusing former prime minister Iveta Radicova (2010-12) of corruption and President Andrej Kiska of tax frauds. "Such societal bullying via criminal law exceeds any sensible bounds. In these cases, it's flagrant abuse of law enforcement bodies for political purposes. If this had happened in Poland or Hungary, a number of Slovak media would have already put themselves on high alert," concluded Lipšic.

OĽaNO-NOVA leader Igor Matovič and his lawyer Daniel Lipšic misuse media attention to manipulate public opinion on their criminal case, Prosecutor-General's deputy Peter Šufliarsky said on Thursday. As he added: "these politicians misuse media attention with ease, unlike regular people who don't have such an option".

Martina Šimkovičová, Photo: TASR

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