Assassination Of Róbert Remiáš
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The assassination of Róbert Remiáš took place on 29 April 1996, in
Karlova Ves Karlova Ves (, ) is a borough in the city of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the city close to the river Danube on the slopes of the Little Carpathians mountains and it is part of the Bratislava IV admini ...
,
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
,
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. Remiáš, an ex-police officer, was one of the key figures in the trial against
Slovak Information Service Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...
in the case of the
kidnapping of the Slovak President's son Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
into
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
from 1995. Remiáš's car was remotely detonated in the middle of a busy crossroad at Karloveská Street. There were numerous high-ranking mafia organised crime figures present at the crime scene watching the explosion, as well as Slovak Information Service operatives. The crime has never been solved. The anniversary of the assassination was often used by political parties critical of
Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (; born 26 July 1942) is a Slovak former politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from June 1990 to May 1991, June 1992 to March 1994, and again from December 1994 to October 1998. He was the leader of the Movemen ...
to call out for the annulment of his amnesties which prevented some key political crimes from the mid-1990s to be investigated.


Background

Róbert Remiáš (born Róbert Michalík; 22 May 1970 - 29 April 1996) was an ex-police officer and a person through whom Oskar Fegyveres communicated in a key political lawsuit of the 1990s -
Kidnapping of the Slovak President's son Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
into
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. Fegyveres was an ex-
intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a r ...
who gave testimony in the case of kidnapping of the son of the President of Slovakia, Michal Kováč, Jr. Fegyveres described the involvement of Prime Minister
Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (; born 26 July 1942) is a Slovak former politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from June 1990 to May 1991, June 1992 to March 1994, and again from December 1994 to October 1998. He was the leader of the Movemen ...
and Director of
Slovak Information Service Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...
Ivan Lexa in this crime. As of 1996, Fegyveres was already in hiding and communicated only through his close friend Róbert Remiáš. Slovak Information Service started spying on Remiáš shortly after Fegyveres went into hiding in 1995. The surveillance lasted until his death. Agents were watching Remiáš from a flat neighbouring his at the Dlhé Diely suburb. The first person to publicly say that Remiáš was spied upon was his mother Anna Remiášová, approximately a month after the assassination. She said that her son's phone was tapped. She also argued that, after his death, the Slovak police demanded from her videotapes where Remiáš recorded those that were stalking him. She revealed that there were never any videotapes and that her son only spoke about them over the phone to confuse the people who were watching him. Later, the head of Slovak Information Service Vladimír Mitro admitted that the phone in Remiáš's home on Majerníková Street No. 5 was wiretapped from 14 November 1995, until his death. He was also under constant surveillance in "Akcia Brojler" (Operation Broiler). On 14 March 1996, Remiáš visited the third investigator of the Kidnapping of the Slovak President's son case, Jozef Číž. He complained to Číž about being constantly watched and provided the following car models and number plates: Ford Sierra NRI 96-27, Mitsubishi Pajero NRI 54-39 and Škoda Felicia BLH 99-98. He described the crews of these cars as muscular young men with short-cut hair. According to Remiáš, Číž laughed at him and demanded to know where Oskar Fegyveres was. As it later turned out, the vehicles belonged to mafia group called Ferusovci. Several rumours published in a book written by former journalist Peter Tóth suggest that the Deputy Director of Slovak Information Service
Jaroslav Svěchota Jaroslav Svěchota, plk., JUDr. (September 13, 1941 – November 8, 2004) was the former Deputy Chief of the Slovak Secret Service and lawyer. Together with Ivan Lexa, Svěchota was one of the key figures in the controversial reign of Prime Min ...
might have given the order to spy on and, potentially also to assassinate Remiáš to the boss of Bratislava mafia at that time, Miroslav Sýkora. Svěchota knew Sýkora personally, both men met regularly. According to the original lawsuit, Sýkora delegated the hit to Jozef Roháč and Imrich Oláh. According to the head of investigators at that time, they were helped by two other unidentified men, one of them a member of the Slovak Information Service. Roháč placed an explosive device under Remiáš's car, attaching it to the rear axle. Remiáš was also linked to have ties with Albanian drug mafia, and according to some testimonies was engaged in selling heroin. The book claims, although unlikely, that his death might be related to these activities.


Assassination

The car exploded on Karloveská Street in
Karlova Ves Karlova Ves (, ) is a borough in the city of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the city close to the river Danube on the slopes of the Little Carpathians mountains and it is part of the Bratislava IV admini ...
, Bratislava on 29 April 1996, in front of a pub called "Riviéra" at 9:15 p.m. The explosion did not kill Remiáš immediately, as evidenced by fumes found in his lungs and witness accounts of hearing him scream, but he did die shortly after, probably burning to death. During the time of the explosion there were numerous people observing the crossroads: * Roman Deák, an organised crime member from Bratislava, was sitting in his purple Mercedes SUV at the opposite side of the road where Remiáš's car detonated. He was the one who actually called the police and reported a car explosion at Karloveská Street. Deák was later gunned down by Jurij Fejer and
Jozef Roháč Jozef Roháč a.k.a. Potkan (Rat) (September 6, 1956) is a Slovak criminal, terrorist and Slovak mafia hitman, specializing in explosives. He is mostly known for installing the explosive device in the Assassination of Róbert Remiáš and in ass ...
on 20 October 1999, in the Dúbravka borough of Bratislava. * Next to Deák's car there was supposed to be a Mercedes with two Slovak Information Service operatives. According to eyewitnesses, one of them came out of the car to take a closer look at the burning car. * On the opposite side of the street, in front of restaurant ''Riviéra'' and near the explosion there was a Mercedes with Tibor Pápay a.k.a. Papa Joe, the head of an organised crime family in
Dunajská Streda Dunajská Streda (; ; ) is a town located in southern Slovakia ( Trnavský kraj). Dunajská Streda is the most culturally significant town in the Žitný ostrov area. The town has a population of 22,730, with ethnic Hungarians forming the 72% maj ...
. Pápay was later gunned down in the most spectacular mafia mass-murder in the modern
history of Slovakia The history of Slovakia spans from prehistoric settlements to the modern Slovak Republic. Situated in Central Europe, the region’s earliest evidence of human habitation dates to the Palaeolithic era, with significant Neolithic and Bronze Age c ...
on 25 March 1999, in restaurant ''Fontána'' together with most of his gang. * Imrich Oláh and Jozef Roháč were also supposed to be watching the crime scene.


Investigation

As of 2003, the investigation file had 2400 pages. The first 600 were written by investigator Ján Móric, the rest by his successor Július Šáray. According to magazine Plus 7 dní there are hints of the Slovak Information Service involvement in the crime already in Móric's work. Móric told the mother of Róbert Remiáš that if he were to be pressured in any way, he would immediately quit the Police force. A few months into the investigation, Móric quit his job at the police. Bratislava regional prosecution, complying with the investigator, dropped the charges against Jozef Roháč and Imrich Oláh in 2006 in relation to the murder of Róbert Remiáš. The Prosecutor's Office claims that the charges were dropped because of the testimonies of witnesses: Karol Szatmáry, Margita S., Otakar N., Milan R., Jozef H., Peter T., Štefan C., Štefan V., Ladislav T. and a concealed witness.


Testimony of Karol Szatmáry

Organised crime member Karol Szatmáry decided to cooperate with the Slovak police, although he would later flee and go into hiding. In 1999, Minister of Interior
Ladislav Pittner Ladislav Pittner (18 May 1934 – 15 August 2008) was a Slovak politician. He served as the Minister of Interior of Slovakia in 1994 and between 1998 and 2001. Biography Ladislav Pittner was born on 18 May 1934 in Malacky. As a high school stu ...
declared that "with a degree of certainty he explained to us the connection between the Slovak Secret Service and the mafia". Pittner famously characterized Szatmáry with the sentence: "The witness committed crimes of the most serious nature". According to Szatmáry, the killing was ordered by Miroslav Sýkora (who in turn had an order from Ivan Lexa) who delegated the hit to Imrich Oláh. Jozef Roháč was supposed to provide the explosive device. Szatmáry testified that Oláh admitted the murder to him in the summer of 1998. Szatmáry later recalled his testimony by writing a letter to the Slovak police, claiming it was provided under pressure and after being promised various advantages in his own investigation. After the analysis of Imrich Oláh's body, which was found on 12 October 2005 established his time of death as July 1997. Therefore, Szatmáry's claim that he met him in 1998 is certainly false. Szatmáry went into hiding in 2000 becoming one of the most sought-after fugitives in Slovakia. Karol Szatmáry committed suicide on 22 April 2006, by jumping into the river
Váh The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geograph ...
. His body was identified through DNA analysis on 17 May 2006, a month after it was found floating with his IDs in the river
Váh The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geograph ...
.


Other testimonies

* Margita Szatmáryová- ex-wife of Karol Szatmáry. She confirmed that Szatmáry's testimony was given under pressure only so that he could get out of prison. * Otakar N. - Slovak Information Service operative who was supposed to cooperate with Karol Szatmáry when apprehending a mafia member. Otakar N. denied this. * Milan Reichel - alleged boss of the
Poprad Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...
mafia. According to Szatmáry's testimony he coordinated the assassination with Miroslav Sýkora and they both recruited Oláh. Reichel denied this. As of 2006 he was still alive, recently being detained in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and extradited to Slovakia but he was released shortly after. Slovak police has offered him a status of a "protected witness", but Milan R. claims he has nothing to say about the case. * Jozef H. - knew Imrich Oláh. He testified that he would have known if Oláh was involved. He claims to have last met him in October 1997, but according to the police, Oláh is dead since summer 1997. Despite this fact his testimony was declared trustworthy by the Prosecutor's Office. * Peter Tóth - former journalist and Head of Counter-Intelligence at Slovak Information Service. According to his testimony, Sýkora did not know Roháč at that time and Sýkora could order the hit from Ukrainians or Russians who surrounded him at that time. * Štefan C. - former close friend of Jozef Roháč. According to his testimony, if Roháč had anything in common with the murder, he would have known. He denied the testimony of Ondrej S. who testified that Roháč confessed to him about the crime. Ondrej S. also claimed that he helped hide Oláh because the police were looking for him. * Štefan V. - knew Miroslav Sýkora. He testified that Sýkora did not know Roháč at the time of the crime. * Ladislav T. - he could not say anything about the crime, it is not known why his testimony is used as a reason for dropping the charges. * concealed witness - according to his or her testimony, Jozef Roháč was responsible for the explosion. He or she testified about a car that Roháč was supposed to use to drive to the crime scene and about a hut in Senec, that was supposed to be Roháč's hideout after the crime. According to other testimonies, the hut in question was already demolished at that time and the concealed witness' testimony is denied by several other witnesses.


See also

*
Crime in Slovakia Slovakia (population 5.4 million) is a Central European country with a history of relatively low crime. While crime became more widespread after the revolutions of 1989, it remains low when compared to many other post-communist countries. Slo ...
*
Slovak Information Service Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...
*
Slovak mafia The Slovak mafia () constitutes various organized crime groups in Slovakia, controlled primarily by Slovak interests. The Slovak mafia does not have significant international presence and even in Slovakia, their activities are limited by boundari ...
*
Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (; born 26 July 1942) is a Slovak former politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from June 1990 to May 1991, June 1992 to March 1994, and again from December 1994 to October 1998. He was the leader of the Movemen ...
*
Jozef Roháč Jozef Roháč a.k.a. Potkan (Rat) (September 6, 1956) is a Slovak criminal, terrorist and Slovak mafia hitman, specializing in explosives. He is mostly known for installing the explosive device in the Assassination of Róbert Remiáš and in ass ...


References


External links


The Independent reporting on the assassination in 1996 (in English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Remias, Robert Crime in Bratislava Murder in Slovakia People murdered by organized crime Assassinations in Slovakia 1996 crimes in Slovakia 1990s in Bratislava Slovak murder victims April 1996 crimes 1996 murders in Europe 1990s murders in Slovakia Organized crime events in Slovakia