A Slovak court on Monday sentenced a far-right MP to four years and four months in prison for promoting an extremist movement, accusing him of using a neo-Nazi symbol.
Marian Kotleba, head of the far-right party, Popular Party - Our Slovakia (LSNS), elected to Parliament, was accused of promoting a "
movement to suppress fundamental rights and freedoms
", according to the parquet.
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During a charity event organized in 2017 by LSNS in a school in Banska Bystrica (center), Mr. Kotleba gave three families, and in front of 400 guests, checks in the amount of 1,488 euros each.
Now this number is considered a neo-Nazi symbol, the number 14 representing a 14-word slogan of the famous white supremacist David Lane, combined with 88 symbolizing the eighth letter of the alphabet H, for the Nazi salute "
Heil Hitler
".
Mr. Kotleba, 43, has claimed his innocence.
"
I am not aware of having committed a crime
", he said in particular in his final plea which lasted nearly eight hours.
According to local media, the accused appealed to the Supreme Court.
If the latter approved the verdict of the specialized criminal court in Pezinok (west), Mr. Kotleba would also lose his mandate, according to the Slovak constitution.
Marian Kotleba, a former regional governor of Banska Bystrica is known to have led marches with members of his party wearing neo-Nazi uniforms.
He was accused of uttering hate speech, without ever being convicted.
This former high school teacher, sporting a mustache, openly displays his hostility towards the Roma minority, and has often been nostalgic for the regime of prelate Jozef Tiso, which was allied with Nazi Germany.
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In 2018, the Supreme Court decided not to ban Mr. Kotleba's party at the request of the general prosecutor's office.
First entered Parliament in 2016, LSNS holds 17 seats out of a total of 150 in the Slovak Parliament.
“
This verdict is a breakthrough,
” University of Bratislava analyst Aneta Vilagi told AFP after the verdict.
“
This is the very first time that a Slovak court has convicted such a well-known and politically engaged public figure for extremism,
” she said.
“
LSNS has always maintained that they are by no means extremists and that they cannot be convicted of extremism.
This verdict proved them wrong
”.