Supreme Court decided on complaint about Kotleba’s “€1,488” donations

Marian Kotleba’s defending rights were broken.

The senate of the Supreme Court dismissed a complaint submitted by a prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office in the case of cheques for poor people worth €1,488, provided by Marian Kotleba, chair of the far-right People’s Party – Our Slovakia (ĽSNS).

Read also: Kotleba's far-right party faces prosecution for '1488' donation Read more

It identified with the part of a previous ruling issued by the Specialised Criminal Court, which had acquitted Kotleba of extremist charges, the TASR newswire reported.

The Supreme Court identified with the first-instance court’s ruling that found Kotleba's right to legal defence violated, since he had not been provided an opportunity to familiarise himself with investigation results before the prosecutor lodged a proposal to indict him, TASR wrote.

The prosecutor will have to re-write the lawsuit, according to TASR.

Extremists' symbol

The Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok turned down the prosecution of Kotleba over his alleged display of sympathies to an organisation suppressing basic rights and freedoms on September 3, 2018.

Read also Court failed to dissolve far-right ĽSNS Read more

Kotleba faced charges over handing out the cheques to poor families worth €1,488 each. The number 1,488 is notoriously used as a symbol by extremists, as number 14 signifies 14 words by far-right terrorist David Lane, who claimed: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children", whereas 88 stands for an abbreviated Nazi salute of "Heil Hitler" (H is the 8th letter in the alphabet), TASR wrote.

12. Jul 2019 at 1:45 | Compiled by Spectator staff