A judge presiding over pre-trial proceedings at the Banska Bystrica-based Specialised Criminal Court on Wednesday (August 13) decided not to remand three members of far-right band Kratky proces (Short Process), Rastislav R., Karol P., and Tomas F. [names abbreviated due to legal reasons], in custody. The three musicians, who were detained under a police operation codenamed 'Clowns' on Tuesday (August 11) and charged with the crime of producing music albums with extremist themes or overtones, will thus be prosecuted at large. The judge's decision is final and valid. The court ordered the three accused not to travel abroad and not to contact each other. The accused themselves proposed an even wider range of restrictions and obligations beyond the prosecutor's proposal, such as a ban on organising or participating in Kratky proces concerts, a ban on producing promotional materials on the band and the freezing of activities on the band's website, said the court's spokeswoman Katarina Kudjakova, adding that the judge included these obligations and bans in his ruling. A total of nine people have been detained during the operation, including eight Slovak citizens and one Czech citizen. Eight were detained in Slovakia, with five of them being released later with the prosecutor's consent.
Source: TASR
