US embassy cable - 05BRATISLAVA543

C O N F I D E N T I A L  BRATISLAVA 000543 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/SCE, EUR/ACE, AND GTIP 
DOJ FOR VIC STONE 
BUCHAREST FOR SECI CENTER - GAVIN CORN 
CHISINAU FOR LEGAT - HOLLY WEISMAN 
USEU FOR MARK RICHARDS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KJUS, PHUM, LO 
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA'S BILATERAL WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM 
 
Classified By: Scott N. Thayer for reasons of 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  The Slovak Republic founded its witness 
protection program in January 1999.  One of the unique facets 
of the program is its success in arranging bilateral 
protection agreements with other European nations.  Slovakia 
was the first post-communist nation to both send witnesses 
abroad and to accept them from other European countries.  On 
June 13 and 14, poloff participated in a two-day briefing on 
Slovakia's program with the DOJ advisor to the SECI-Center 
(South-East European Cooperation Initiative) Gavin Corn and 
Legat to Moldova Holly Weisman.  The Director of the Witness 
Protection Department, Anton Krc, provided information about 
legislative matters, explained the process of negotiating 
bilateral protection agreements, and elaborated on several 
case studies.  Participants commented that the Slovak program 
may serve as a model for other small post-communist countries 
in South-East Europe.  End Summary. 
 
Early Challenges to the Program 
------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) After the rapid growth of organized crime in 1989, 
Slovak police realized their system was ineffective at 
providing protection to witnesses willing to testifying 
against criminals.  Several high-level cases, such as the 
murder of a key witness testifying against the former 
Director of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) in 1996, 
inspired the police to seek experience and advice from other 
nations.  A new Slovak law, loosely based on the Italian 
model, became effective in January 1999 and the witness 
protection unit received its first (and most difficult 
witness to date) only days after receiving the initial 
budget.  Anton Krc, the director of the witness protection 
unit, was largely responsible for the development of the 
program and provided emboffs and other USG officials with 
information about its operation. 
 
3.  (C) Initially, police confronted several challenges to 
reforming witness protection.  First, when taking into 
consideration Slovakia's small population and land area, it 
became apparent most witnesses should be relocated abroad. 
Therefore, it was necessary to create conditions to protect 
other nationalities on the basis of reciprocity, as well as 
Slovaks.  Slovakia now hosts witnesses from six other 
nations, and two-thirds of the Slovak participants in their 
program are living in foreign countries.  Second, trust in 
police was low due to petty corruption and lack of experience 
with witnesses in high-level cases.  The police suggested 
forming an independent committee that would diminish possible 
political interference and accusations of police misuse. 
 
The Commission and Judgments 
---------------------------- 
 
4. (C) A commission, consisting of five members, supervises 
the witness protection program for Slovak citizens.  The 
Interior Minister appoints one criminal police officer, one 
police investigator, a prosecutor, a former judge, an 
employee of the prison corps, and alternate for each 
commission member to maintain continuity.  The identities of 
the commission members are not released to the public.  The 
commission reviews petitions for witnesses to be allowed into 
the program on a permanent basis, as well as requests for 
short-term emergency protection measures.  In some instances, 
the commission has denied permanent protection and the 
witness was immediately released from previously granted 
interim protection measures. 
 
5. (C) The chairman of the committee must convene a meeting 
to review a request within seven days of receiving a proposal 
from the police.  Another three months is allocated to obtain 
more information about the case, to evaluate the value of the 
testimony, or conduct independent hearings.  Four of the five 
commission members must vote in the affirmative for the 
witness to be taken into protective custody.  Decisions are 
made by secret ballot and the applicant/the witness's 
proponent only receives the result of the vote with no other 
justification provided. 
 
6. (C) The police make all decisions regarding foreign 
nationals who participate in the Slovak system.  The police 
set the conditions for exchange and monitor the individuals 
accordingly.  While witnesses on occasion violate the strict 
conditions set by police, Krc stated it was difficult to 
terminate someone's status.  In only one instance, the police 
terminated the program for a former hitman accused of 
 
repeatedly returning to his country of origin to extort 
money.  Police would inform the commission if Slovak citizens 
violated the conditions of their program, who would then vote 
for expulsion from the program if warranted. 
 
Becoming a State's Witness 
-------------------------- 
 
7. (C) After the commission votes to grant protection, the 
witness protection unit begins to prepare for bringing the 
person and any dependents into state custody.  All 
participants must agree to several basic principles, such as 
breaking all prior contacts and avoiding former residences. 
While in the program the witness must inform police of any 
new contacts and commit no crimes.   One of the most 
important aspects of the program is that witnesses must agree 
to become self-sufficient overtime.  Even though the average 
Slovak salary is approximately 12,000 SKK (387 USD) per 
month, the police must provide a salary commensurate with the 
witness's previous profession, which could be triple the 
average.  These expenses in the beginning are compounded when 
a Slovak witness is relocated to a Western European nation. 
All participants are gradually weaned from the budget.  The 
current budget for the program is approximately 20 million 
SKK (645,160 USD). 
 
First/Second Unit: Handlers 
--------------------------- 
 
8. (C) The group responsible for day-to-day management of 
witness protection is comprised of 34 officers in four 
sub-divisions; the first and second units are handlers. 
These agents evaluate whether a person is eligible for 
relocation abroad.  Before relocation from safehouses, the 
handler assists with all the necessary arrangements to assure 
that the witnesses will eventually become independent.  The 
police officers help develop the language, job, and education 
skills that the witness will need.  To add an additional 
layer of security, the unit usually does not know where the 
witnesses will be located abroad.  Police in the new country 
of residence facilitate continued communication, and 
witnesses can be issued cell phones used only to contact the 
handlers.  The unit continues to provide services, such as 
assisting the witness in returning to Slovakia to attend to 
financial matters, and helps organize visits witQamily 
members once a year, usually in third countries to ensure 
that the new residence is not compromised.  After the 
individual is no longer receiving monetary assistance from 
the state, these visits tend to taper off. 
 
Third Unit: An Additional Identity 
---------------------------------- 
 
9. (C) For Slovak witnesses sent abroad, the third police 
unit creates an additional identity to be used abroad.  The 
original identity is not wiped out completely in order for 
the subject to collect legal inheritance and to use the 
original identity for return trips to Slovakia.  The police 
are also responsible Qr creating a workable cover story and 
backstopping all other legal records.  The Slovaks not 
relocated abroad also receive additional identities and can 
also be placed in jails.  The unit reported that individuals 
are more at-risk to leave the program if placed in jails. 
Since there is such a small number of participants in the 
program, the witnesses are usually confined alone and 
perceive the protection program as punishment. 
 
Fourth Unit: Protection Technology 
--------------------------------- 
 
10. (C) During the trial, the unit also arranges short-term 
protection for witnesses.  Video-conferencing technology is 
available upon the decision of the judge.  The unit director 
expressed dismay that this technology is not used more often 
because judges and lawyers are reluctant to agree to these 
measures.  He speculated on the reasons: they might be 
apprehensive about new technology, corruption could be a 
factor, or the defense could successfully cast doubt on the 
validity of the video testimony.  In most trials, the judge 
is physically located in the same room as the witness, 
therefore the victim usually returns to Slovakia.  The 
witness can testify from an embassy abroad, but that is very 
rare.  This technology was most recently used to provide 
testimony for a German case that involved a Nazi war criminal 
who committed crimes in Slovakia.  The fourth unit also can 
employ the use of SWAT teams, police traffic patrols, or 
police dogs to protect a returning witness. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
11.  (C) The Slovak witness protection program is still 
relatively young and has not confronted certain hurdles. 
However, the country is a good model for countries where 
corruption is a perceived problem, and for countries with a 
small population.  In only a few years, the Slovaks have 
worked with over 70 individuals to provide protection.  In a 
few cases, individuals violated the rules of the program, and 
some have voluntarily left, but overall the program has been 
quite successful. 
 
THAYER 
 
 
NNNN