Escaped prisoner still on the run; prison guards sacked

Three prison guards have been sacked over the June 2 escape of a convicted criminal from Leopoldov prison, TASR learnt on Tuesday. Furthermore, the guards' conduct will be investigated by police over suspicion of negligence of duty, thus the guards might also potentially face criminal prosecution. Ľubomír Behan, 24, had been convicted of armed robbery and was serving a sentence of eight years and eight months in a medium-security prison when he managed to escape. The former kick-boxer remains at large. It was Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská who personally inquired about the results of the investigation into the Leopoldov case. "It turned out that officers supposed to be supervising the place failed to carry out their responsibilities and weren't physically present where they had to be. That proved to be the main cause of all subsequent events. Had they been at their posts and doing their job properly, the convict would have stood no chance of escaping", said the minister. Žitňanská also personally inquired about the recent case of an elderly couple that claimed to have been subjected to degrading treatment at the hands of Leopoldov staff while on a visit to see their imprisoned son.