Businessman Marian Kočner's defence lawyer has asked permission to cite excerpts from his client's Threema app chats, which have been accepted as evidence by the Specialised Criminal Court, despite the fact that Kočner continues to challenge the authenticity of the messages. He sees political motives behind the court's decision to have his chats read aloud in the courtroom during the trial in which Kočner stands accused of falsifying promissory notes worth €69 million. "It's only alleged chats, discovered in the mobile phone that has somehow mysteriously emerged," he said in court on Monday, claiming that ex-Slovak Intelligence Service member and ex-journalist Peter Toth gave contradictory testimonies regarding the "origin of the Threema phone."
Nonetheless defence lawyer Martin Pohovej has asked for permission to cite several excerpts from the chats, namely the parts about Toth seeking psychiatric help. "On the one hand, they're casting doubt on the authenticity of the chats, on the other they're citing excerpts from them," said prosecutor Jan Šanta, pointing to contradictions in statements by the defence. Over the past weeks excerpts from the so called "Threema chats" have been published in the media showing Kočner's shady relations with judges, prosecutors and high ranking officials. He tried to arrange decisions favourable to his business interests in exchange for bribes.
