Slovak court sentences neo-Nazi in case of assault at student bar to almost 7 years in prison, he appeals
A District Court in Nitra, Slovakia has convicted one of the men who assaulted the owner of the Mariatchi bar there on 1 January 2014. The panel of judges handed down a verdict during its hearing on 20 March finding defendant Ján Ď. guilty of felony battery and complicity in the offense of rioting.
According to Tatiana Muziková, Deputy Spokesperson for the Regional Court in Nitra, no ameliorating circumstances were discovered during the trial. “An aggregate sentence of six years and six months’ imprisonment has been handed down. The court decided to place the defendant in a minimum-security prison. He has also been tasked with the obligation to compensate the victim for the damage caused,” she said.
Muziková noted that the verdict has not yet taken effect and that the defendant has appealed. According to the court, Jáň Ď. attacked the owner of the Mariatchi bar, Radovan Richtárik, on 1 January 2014, breaking his leg.
The case is connected to multiple attacks committed by alleged neo-Nazis against the bar and its customers. The first attack happened on 5 October 2013, when a group of young men assaulted the customers and personnel there.
Three people suffered various injuries as a consequence. Men with shaved heads attacked the bar again on 1 January 2014.
The owner did his best to photograph the rioters, who broke the windows in the establishment. They assaulted him and broke his leg.
Suspect František B. was convicted of that January 2014 attack last year and given a six-month suspended sentence. A total of seven persons have been charged in the Mariatchi bar cases.
František B. and Ján Ď. have been charged with the January 2014 assault, and five other persons have been charged with the October 2013 attack. One of those defendants, a former professional soldier, Tomáš S., confessed and agreed to a plea bargain.
He was fined EUR 400 for his role in the attack. News server Romea.cz has reported on these cases here and here.
