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Foreign Ministry: Slovaks Arrested in Frankfurt Haven't Asked for Help
Tuesday 29 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 29 (TASR) - None of the Slovaks involved in a heated row with Lufthansa airlines personnel at Frankfurt Airport that resulted in arrests and allegations of an excessive reaction by police have asked Slovak representation offices in Germany for help, Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Peter Stano told TASR on Tuesday.
The Slovak and Czech passengers concerned were complaining about waiting for three days for a delayed flight to Prague before Christmas. The incident, which also involved the arrest of Jiri Jodas, a Czech honorary consul in Brazil, took place while flights were delayed by heavy snowfall and black ice.
More than 3,000 people had to sleep on airport seats, while 5,000 were given accommodation in hotels. Around 100 frustrated passengers, mostly Czechs and Slovaks, asked Lufthansa personnel for food and drinks. When the staff refused to comply with their demands, the passengers reacted with verbal abuse. According to witnesses cited by Czech news website lidovky.cz, the intervention by German police that followed was inappropriate, with officers using electronic truncheons also known as tasers.
The police arrested six Slovaks and Czechs at the scene. The Czech consul, who put up the most resistance, wasn't helped even by his diplomatic passport, and according to witnesses was kicked several times by the officers.
The authorities let the detainees go free after several hours without pressing any charges.
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