Assassination of Róbert Remiáš
Encyclopedia
Assassination of Róbert Remiáš took place on April 29, 1996 in Karlova Ves
, Bratislava
, Slovakia
. Remiáš, an ex-police officer, was one of the key figures in the trial against Slovak Information Service in the case of Kidnapping of the Slovak President's son into Austria
from 1995. Remiáš's car was remotely detonated in the middle of a busy crossroads at Karloveská Street. There were numerous high-ranking mafia officials present at the crime scene watching the explosion, as well as Slovak Information Service agents. The crime has never been solved. The anniversary of the assassination is often used by political parties critical of Vladimír Mečiar
to call out for the annulment of his amnesties which prevent some key political crimes from the mid-1990s to be investigated.
. Fegyveres was an ex-secret agent 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
and Director of Slovak Information Service 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 neighboring 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 and 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 November 14, 1995 until his death. He was also under constant surveillance in "Action Brojler"
On March 14, 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 IDs: 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 no hair that he was afraid of. 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.
The Deputy Director of Slovak Information Service Jaroslav Svěchota
gave the order 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 at the rear axle.
, Bratislava on April 29, 1996 in front of a place 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:
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.
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 established his time of death as summer 1997, 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 was identified through DNA matching as dead on May 17, 2006 after the previous month a body with his IDs was found in the river Váh
.
Karlova Ves
Karlova Ves is a borough in western Bratislava and part of the Bratislava IV district, located near the southern end of the Little Carpathians....
, Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Remiáš, an ex-police officer, was one of the key figures in the trial against Slovak Information Service in the case of Kidnapping of the Slovak President's son into Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
from 1995. Remiáš's car was remotely detonated in the middle of a busy crossroads at Karloveská Street. There were numerous high-ranking mafia officials present at the crime scene watching the explosion, as well as Slovak Information Service agents. The crime has never been solved. The anniversary of the assassination is often used by political parties critical of Vladimír Mečiar
Vladimír Meciar
Vladimír Mečiar is a Slovak politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1998. He is the leader of the People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia...
to call out for the annulment of his amnesties which prevent some key political crimes from the mid-1990s to be investigated.
Background
Róbert Remiáš, an ex-police officer, was the person through which Oskar Fegyveres communicated in a key political lawsuit of the 1990s - Kidnapping of the Slovak President's son into AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Fegyveres was an ex-secret agent 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 Meciar
Vladimír Mečiar is a Slovak politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1998. He is the leader of the People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia...
and Director of Slovak Information Service Ivan Lexa
Ivan Lexa
Ivan Lexa, Ing. is the former head of the Slovak Secret Service from 1995 to 1998. One of the closest allies of the former autocratic Prime Minister of Slovakia Vladimír Mečiar, under Lexa the Secret Service committed numerous high-profile politically motivated crimes.In 2000, Ivan Lexa fled...
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 neighboring 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 and 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 November 14, 1995 until his death. He was also under constant surveillance in "Action Brojler"
On March 14, 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 IDs: 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 no hair that he was afraid of. 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.
The Deputy Director of Slovak Information Service Jaroslav Svěchota
Jaroslav Svěchota
Jaroslav Svěchota, plk., JUDr. was the former Deputy Chief of the Slovak Secret Service and lawyer...
gave the order 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 at the rear axle.
Assassination
The car exploded on Karloveská Street in Karlova VesKarlova Ves
Karlova Ves is a borough in western Bratislava and part of the Bratislava IV district, located near the southern end of the Little Carpathians....
, Bratislava on April 29, 1996 in front of a place 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, a known mafia 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 told them about a car exploding at Karloveská Street. Deák was later gunned down by two unknown men on October 20, 1999 in the DúbravkaDúbravka, BratislavaDúbravka is a borough of Bratislava, Slovakia. It lies in the western part of the city on the eastern slope of Devínska Kobyla hill, covers 862 ha and is home to some 35,000 inhabitants.- History :...
borough of Bratislava. - Next to Deák's car there was supposed to be a Mercedes with two Slovak Information Service agents. 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 mafia in Dunajská StredaDunajská StredaDunajská Streda is a town in southern Slovakia . Dunajská Streda is the most important town of the Žitný ostrov region. It has a Hungarian ethnic majority and its population is 23,562 -Name:...
. Pápay was later gunned down in the most spectacular mafia mass-murder in the modern history of SlovakiaHistory of SlovakiaThis article discusses the history of the territory of Slovakia.- Palaeolithic :Radiocarbon dating puts the oldest surviving archaeological artifacts from Slovakia - found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom - at 270,000 BCE, in the Early Paleolithic era...
on March 25, 1999 in restaurant Fontána together with most of his gang. - Imrich Oláh and Jozef Roháč were also supposed to be watching the crime scene.
Investiagtion
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
Mafia 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 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
Ivan Lexa
Ivan Lexa, Ing. is the former head of the Slovak Secret Service from 1995 to 1998. One of the closest allies of the former autocratic Prime Minister of Slovakia Vladimír Mečiar, under Lexa the Secret Service committed numerous high-profile politically motivated crimes.In 2000, Ivan Lexa fled...
) 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 established his time of death as summer 1997, 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 was identified through DNA matching as dead on May 17, 2006 after the previous month a body with his IDs was found in the river Váh
Váh
The Váh is the longest river in entire Slovakia. A left tributary of the Danube river, the Váh is 406 km long, including its Čierny Váh branch...
.
Other testimonies
- Margita S. - 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 agent who was supposed to cooperate with Karol Szatmáry when apprehending a mafia member. Otakar N. denied this.
- Milan R. - alleged boss od the PopradPopradPoprad is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the tenth largest city in Slovakia with a population of approximately 55,000.The Poprad-Tatry Airport is...
mafia. According to Szatmáry's testimony he coordinated the assassination with Miroslav Sýkora and they both recruited Oláh. Milan R. denied this. As of 2006 he was still alive, recently being detained in the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
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 SenecSenecThe name Senec may refer to various places, including:* Senec District, district in the Bratislava Region of western Slovakia* Senec, Slovakia, capital of Senec District* Senec, Rakovník, village in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic...
, 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 SlovakiaCrime in SlovakiaSlovakia is a Central European country with a history of relatively low crime. While crime became more widespread after the fall of communism in 1989, it remains low when compared to many other post-communist countries....
- Slovak Information Service
- Vladimír MečiarVladimír MeciarVladimír Mečiar is a Slovak politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1998. He is the leader of the People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia...
- Jozef RoháčJozef RoháčJozef Roháč a.k.a Potkan is a Slovak criminal, terrorist and mafia hitman, specializing in explosives. He is mostly known for installing the explosive device in the Assassination of Róbert Remiáš and in assassinations of numerous organized crime bosses in Slovakia and Hungary...