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Valko Was Close to Withdrawing Compensation Demand Before Murder
Monday 22 November 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, November 22 (TASR) - Recently-murdered lawyer Ernest Valko sent a letter to the Interior Ministry on July 1 demanding €1.6 million in compensation for being charged with blackmail in a high-profile land-dispute case involving the Vittek brothers, Interior Minister Daniel Lipsic stated on Monday.
Lipsic noted that the charges were later dropped, and reaffirmed that Valko didn't commit any crime.
In fact, talks between Valko and the ministry aimed at Valko withdrawing his compensation demand were close to a successful completion shortly before he was shot dead at his house in Limbach near Bratislava on November 8. Lipsic told journalists that two rounds of talks took place before Valko's death, while the third and final one was due to take place on November 9, the day after the lawyer was killed.
Lipsic also expressed his regret at the fact that Valko was arrested back in November 2006, and stated that no evidence was found to support the charges.
As for Valko's murder itself, Lipsic reiterated that he won't provide any information that could possibly damage the ongoing investigation. He refused to answer what he called "a speculative question" from one of the reporters present who asked him directly if he could rule out the possibility that Valko's daughter was behind the murder plan.
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