The widow of Jozef Chovanec and the State of Slovakia have appealed against a late September decision by the Charleroi Council Chamber to drop the case against the police for the death of the Slovak lawyer.
This was confirmed on Tuesday by Master Hayat Karim, the lawyer representing three of the police officers who restrained Chovanec in his cell. The charges against all 31 suspects were dropped.
The civil parties had 15 days to appeal against the decision. Chovanec’s widow expressed disappointment at the ruling.
Jozef Chovanec died on 27 February 2018 at the Marie Curie Hospital in Charleroi after being admitted on 24 February following a heart attack. The 38-year-old businessman had intended to fly to Slovakia but displayed aggressive behaviour and was detained in a cell at Charleroi airport, where he repeatedly hit his head against a wall.
Suffering from delirium, Chovanec was then forcibly restrained by several police officers, who wrapped his head in a blanket before injecting him with a sedative. Video footage showed officers smiling and one female officer giving a Nazi salute. A reconstruction of events took place in late September 2021.
Karim stated on Tuesday that her clients had faith in the justice system and the judicial authorities.
“We hope a decision on the appeal can be reached within a reasonable timeframe so they can finally move on,” the defence lawyer added. “When they entered the cell, they attempted to save a man’s life. As forensic experts confirmed, their intervention did not cause Mr Chovanec’s death.”
It is not yet known when the indictment chamber will address the case.
