Former Slovak Deaf Olympics Committee head sentenced 13 years

Former Slovak Deaf Olympic Committee head Jaromir Ruda was sentenced 13 years in jail by Banska Bystrica Regional Court for fraud on Tuesday.



Ruda will serve the sentence in a medium-security penitentiary for embezzling 1.6 million Euros (about 2.1 million US dollars allocated for the preparation of the 2008 Deaf Olympic Games in the High Tatras, which was cancelled prior to scheduled date. Several teams had already traveled to Slovakia in readiness for the event.



The Regional Court upgraded the charges of embezzling in Rudo's case to fraud.



"The client has now spent three years in custody, so he's already come to terms with his situation. However, he believes he's innocent and we'll do our utmost to prove it (on appeal)," said Rudo's lawyer Juraj Remsik.



Rudo will file an appeal to the Supreme Court - the only course of action left to him.

