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Slovenian MP sentenced for 5 years for extortion

01 October 2010 00:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A Slovenian member of parliament, Srecko Prijatelj, on Thursday received a five-year sentence for extortion, APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency.

His sentence by Koper District Court represents the first case of an acting MP to receive a prison sentence, reported the Slovenian news agency, STA.

A member of the opposition National Party (SNS), Prijatelj was apprehended for receiving 320,000 euros (about 436,700 U.S. dollars) from Slovenian businessman, Marjan Mikuz, in a police sting in March.

The money was said to be a commission for the sale of land to the Port of Koper, on the Adriatic Sea. Mikuz allegedly cooperated with police in the sting operation after receiving death threats from Prijatelj. Mikuz testified that he had previously handed over 329,000 euros to Prijatelj and another 90,000 euros to Robert Casar, the former chairman of state-owned Port of Koper and senior member of the opposition Slovenia Democratic Party (SDS).

Prijatelj, who was also charged with abuse of power and illegal firearms possession, was ordered to repay Mikuz 50,000 euros and pay a 16,500-euro fine.

Two guns, three hand grenades and an automatic rifle were found at his home. In handing down the sentence, Judge Orijana Trunkl said the prosecution had proved Prijatelj had extorted a commission from Mikuz for the land deal.

Prijatelj said he would appeal the sentence to a higher court, calling the trial a "show trial" and a "conspiracy." According to Slovenian media reports, the Port of Koper had suffered a 3.8-million euro loss because of the land deal scandal. (1 U.S. dollar = 0.73277 euros)