BRATISLAVA, May 4, (WEBNOVINY) — Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic considers it absurd and unacceptable in a country with rule of law for the office of the prosecutor general to wait with submitting its proposal to lift MP Igor Stefanov’s immunity from prosecution to parliament. “The prosecution office has already studied the file. The supervising prosecutor of the special prosecution office agrees with it. The special prosecutor agrees. What are we waiting for now? For the election of the new prosecutor general? For the votes for one concrete candidate? In a country with rule of law, this is absolutely absurd and unacceptable,” Lipsic told reporters Wednesday.
According to him, if the supervising prosecutor approved the existing evidence, if it was approved by the special prosecutor as well, there is no legal reason to not send the proposal to lift Stefanov’s immunity. “It is absurd when the office of the prosecutor general acts on political motives of the election of the prosecutor general. I consider this unacceptable,” emphasized the minister. He underlined that the candidates who have influence in the prosecutor general’s office and in its administration are interested in finally electing a prosecutor general. “They need the votes of MPs and there is one MP who may be criminally prosecuted. The proposal will not arrive to parliament until then [when the new prosecutor general is elected — SITA note], which I consider scandalous. If the Office of Prosecutor General sends a signal that it is willing to protect MPs suspected of criminal offense…if the current administration of the Office of Prosecutor General stays in office, they are sending such a signal by acting this way. They send the signal that some people are above the law. This situation suits the Prosecutor General’s Office,” stated Lipsic.
The police investigator has asked the prosecution to ask parliament to list the immunity of opposition SNS MP and former Minister of Construction Igor Stefanov. Stefanov is one of five accused in the case of the so-called bulletin-board tender. The investigator is pressing charges against four of them, including Stefanov’s predecessor Marian Janusek; Stefanov is still protected by his immunity. Stefanov became minister after Marian Janusek, whom the SNS was forced to withdraw under pressure from Prime Minister Robert Fico due to the bulletin-board tender case, which was won by a consortium of two SNS-friendly companies. Later, Fico withdrew Stefanov as well. After Stefanov’s accusation was published, he attacked Minister Lipsic by publishing the „information“ that forty MPs had been wiretapped.
SITA