Man Breaks into Presidential Palace, Kiska Calls it Unpleasant Surprise

Man Breaks into Presidential Palace, Kiska Calls it Unpleasant Surprise

Bratislava, June 28 (TASR) – An unknown man broke into Presidential Palace in the wee hours of Tuesday and spent approximately 20 minutes inside, President’s Office announced on the same day.

The man’s intrusion triggered the security alarm, yet security personnel from the Office for Protection of Constitutional Officials and Diplomatic Missions (UOUCaDM) disregarded it as false and failed to respond. The man climbed the staircase to the top floor, where he was filmed by a security camera, the footage of which was already released by police. According to the President’s Office, the perpetrator didn’t steal or damage anything and after 20 minutes of wandering about left the premises through a guarded side entrance. A member of security team stationed at the gate failed to take any action.

In the wake of the security breach, UOUCaDM director Radovan Horvath already tendered his resignation. Interior Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) hasn’t yet decided whether or not to accept the resignation, although the ministry claimed that there will be personnel consequences.

President Andrej Kiska called the security incident an unpleasant surprise. “The unpleasant surprise lies in finding out that someone can spend 20 minutes in the Palace without running into anyone. They might wander about freely and we still don’t know what that individual was doing inside,” said the head of state. “I hope that officials will do their utmost to prevent anything of this kind from happening ever again.”