The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed down a suspended sentence of six months with probation of 18 months to far-right People's Party Our Slovakia chair Marian Kotleba for using neo-Nazi symbolism when issuing cheques worth €1,488.
The verdict is final and cannot be appealed against. Kotleba was found guilty of expressing sympathies to a movement suppressing basic rights and freedoms.
Kotleba gifted three families with controversial cheques worth €1,488 on March 14, 2017, a day marking the anniversary of the founding of the WWII fascist Slovak state that served as a satellite of Nazi Germany. Experts confirmed before the court that the numbers 14 and 88 are international codes used by neo-Nazis and the extreme far right.
As a result of a valid conviction for an intentional crime, Kotleba has lost his seat in Parliament. However, the parliamentary mandate and immunity committee has not yet confirmed the loss of the seat.
