Blanar Discusses Chovanec Case with Belgian Minister in Brussels

Brussels, February 25 (TASR) - Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar discussed the case of Slovak citizen Jozef Chovanec, who died from injuries in Belgium, with his Belgian counterpart Maxime Prevot at the EU Council meeting in Brussels, TASR learnt from his Facebook post on Tuesday. Jozef Chovanec (38) died in a hospital in Belgium on February 27, 2018, three days after a police intervention in a cell at Charleroi Airport, where he had been arrested on a flight to Slovakia for allegedly behaving aggressively toward the crew and responding officers. Last September, a Belgian court ruled that no one was criminally responsible for Chovanec's death, describing it as a regrettable combination of tragic circumstances. At the time, Blanar described the decision as scandalous and announced that Slovakia would file a complaint against the verdict with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. "We discussed mutual bilateral visits, but above all, I informed him openly and correctly that the Slovak Justice Ministry will file a complaint on behalf of the Slovak Republic with the European Court of Human Rights against Belgium for failing to comply with numerous procedures and practices during the investigation," Blanar said about his conversation with Prevot. According to the minister, Slovakia respects court decisions and is interested in good relations with Belgium, but won't "pretend that nothing happened". Slovak representatives in Brussels remain in active contact with the Chovanec family's lawyers and the Belgian side, said Blanar. "Our aim is to defend the interests of all Slovak people who may find themselves in difficult situations abroad. In the case of the family of the late Jozef Chovanec, we'll demand justice, which in our opinion hasn't yet been sufficiently achieved," added the head of Slovak diplomacy. lin/mcs