A man identified by police only as Ladislav K., 34, was sentenced by Košice District Court to 25 years in jail for terrorism. The man, responsible for a bomb attack on a fast food restaurant, has thus become the first ever Slovak sentenced for such crime.
The defence attorney maintained that the Košice native was mentally ill, yet the expert testimonies proved that the defendant bore full responsibility for his deed. Ladislav's lawyer appealed against the verdict on the spot, thus the case will go back to the Regional Court. Ladislav, who sympathises with extremist animal-rights supporters, was already sentenced back in May 2013 to 25 years in jail for terrorism by Kosice District Court. His lawyers appealed against the verdict, presenting a new expert evaluation according to which the defendant was unable to control his behaviour due to mental illness. The Regional Court subsequently annulled the verdict and returned the case back down to District Court. According to the affirmed original sentence, Ladislav K. carried out a bomb attack against a Košice fast food restaurant. He was also found guilty of manufacturing explosives, the unlawful possession of firearms, blackmail and intimidation. On December 28, 2011, the man planted and detonated a homemade bomb in a rubbish bin outside the popular fast-food restaurant. There was no loss of life, although the explosion caused property damage. According to the verdict, Ladislav K. committed the deed "in an effort to gravely intimidate the public and force the state Government to adopt measures restricting the killing of animals”.
