Lucansky: Slovak Police Cooperating with Germany in Case of Kidnapped Vietnamese
Bratislava, July 31 (TASR) – Regarding the kidnapping case of a Vietnamese citizen from Germany to his country of origin last year, the Slovak police have, in co-operation with the German authorities, done everything that has been requested; the police have even carried out some pro-active steps, stated Police Corps President Milan Lucansky after meeting Slovak President Andrej Kiska on Tuesday.
“The German side has reported that a meeting should take place in the following days or weeks at which some actions will be carried out. I will be present,” said Lucansky.
When asked whether the Slovak police should launch their own separate investigation, Lucansky said that the Slovak police have been co-operating with the German police. “There is no criminal procedure here at the moment unless the situation changes. However, I’ll do my best to make this case clear and prevent Slovak society from being traumatised by it,” he said.
Many important German media reported on Monday (July 30) that German investigators dealing with the kidnapping case of Vietnamese businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh have raised serious suspicions against Slovakia, claiming that the victim of the abduction left the Schengen area and was returned to his home country on board a Slovak government aircraft.
According to the German police, an official meeting between Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam and former Slovak interior minister Robert Kalinak in Bratislava last year, allegedly “had only one purpose”, namely to “transfer Mr. Thanh relatively smoothly from the Schengen area to Vietnam”.
Businessman Thanh, 51, was allegedly kidnapped while To Lam was officially visiting Slovakia. According to the German press, some of the kidnapping suspects appeared in Lam’s presence in Bratislava, and the Slovak Interior Ministry even provided a plane to the Vietnamese delegation to bring it from Prague and later to take it to Moscow after what the Vietnamese described as sudden changes in their plans.
The Slovak side has denied the accusations.
Meanwhile, Vietnam claims that Thanh, who was charged with fraud in his home country, returned voluntarily. Since he returned to Vietnam, he’s been given two life sentences.
