USP: Decision to Drop Pcolinsky's Charges Borderline Arbitrary

Bratislava, September 2 (TASR) – The decision of the Prosecutor-General’s Office to drop the charges against ex-Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) head Vladimir Pcolinsky raises legitimate doubts and there are reasons to assume that the PG’s Office exceeded the scope of its powers in some instances, the Special Prosecutor’s Office (USP) stated in its legal analysis of the ruling on Thursday.

“Basically, we don’t agree with the decision; it took place in a non-standard manner. It’s also clear that this decision deviates from previous decisions of the PG’s Office with regard to assessing and handling of proposals under the Code of Criminal Procedure; it’s deviant when it comes to fundamental issues,” stated prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Peter Kysel.

Kysel pointed to the fact that the PG’s Office made the ruling after the investigation was finished but before the Special Prosecutor’s Office managed to file an indictment, and thus it substituted courts and assessed the facts in the case differently than the investigator, overseeing prosecutor and courts that previously made rulings regarding Pcolinsky’s custody.

In Kysel’s opinion, the Prosecutor-General’s Office significantly exceeded its limits when it ruled that its decision also annuls the proceedings in the case. The prosecutor noted that never before has the Prosecutor-General’s Office annulled proceedings in a case. At the same time, Kysel remarked that the decision didn’t take into consideration the arguments of the overseeing prosecutor or the courts that decided on Pcolinsky’s custody.

“It’s clear that the decision is legally unsustainable in several instances, contradicts court practice and is borderline arbitrary,” added the prosecutor.

On this note, the Special Prosecutor’s Office called on Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka to examine the decision of his deputy Jozef Kandera, who was the one to dismiss the charges against Pcolinsky.