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Justice for Henry: Slovakia PM assures justice for Filipino mauled to death - DFA

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<div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="360" src="https://video.azet.sk/embed/3000349" width="640"></iframe></div><p>MANILA - <strong>(UPDATED)</strong> The Prime Minister of Slovakia has assured the Philippine government that justice would be served in the case of slain Filipino Henry John Acorda, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.</p><p>Acorda, a 36-year-old financial analyst for a multinational company, was mauled by Slovak national Juraj Hossu on a Bratislava sidewalk on Saturday while protecting a Filipina friend from being sexually harassed.</p><p>He died a few days later due to the injuries he sustained.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/05/18/no-more-spring-reunion-family-cries-justice-for-filipino-mauled-to-death-in-slovakia">No more spring reunion: Family cries justice for Filipino mauled to death in Slovakia</a></li></ul><p>“The Philippines expresses its appreciation to Prime Minister Peter Pelligrini for assuring us that justice will be served for the death of our kababayan Henry John Acorda,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.</p><p>Cayetano also thanked the Slovaks &quot;for standing in grief and solidarity with us over this tragedy.&quot;</p><p>After Acorda&#x27;s death was reported, Pelligrini was quoted by several local news outlets as saying: &quot;These are very bad signals for our society. Justice must be immediately delivered.”</p><p>Newspaper <a href="https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20844190/slovak-cities-paid-tribute-to-killed-filipino-expat.html" target="_blank">The Slovak Spectator</a> said people also came together in different parts of the European country to pay tribute to Acorda and to call for proper investigation into the case.</p><p>While the planned gathering in Bratislava was cancelled due to rainpour, people came together in the central city of Banská Bystrica and in the eastern city of Košice to offer a minute of silence and light candles to commemorate Acorda and his courage.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Two gatherings are planned to take place on Wednesday, June 6 in memory of Henry John Serafica Acorda, calling for justice to be delivered for him. <a href="https://t.co/fs98r6kxYR">https://t.co/fs98r6kxYR</a></p>— The Slovak Spectator (@slovakspectator) <a href="https://twitter.com/slovakspectator/status/1003542393688395776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Expat killed in a street attack in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bratislava?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bratislava</a>. New Police Corps President takes over. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Slovaks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Slovaks</a> invented compostable plastic. Overview of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/news?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#news</a> from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Slovakia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Slovakia</a> in less than 5 minutes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LastWeekInSlovakia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LastWeekInSlovakia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/podcast?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#podcast</a> <a href="https://t.co/eTmGG1ozHy">https://t.co/eTmGG1ozHy</a></p>— The Slovak Spectator (@slovakspectator) <a href="https://twitter.com/slovakspectator/status/1004451341694054402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2018</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>The DFA said Ambassador Ma. Cleofe Natividad went to Bratislava to personally convey Cayetano&#x27;s condolences to Acorda&#x27;s mother and sisters.</p><p>The envoy also assured the family that the Embassy would extend &quot;all possible assistance&quot; to them, including hiring of lawyers and the repatriation of Acorda&#x27;s remains back to the Philippines.</p><p>The Slovak Spectator also reported that Interior Minister Denisa Saková met with the family to offer help with transporting his body back to their homeland by using the Interior Ministry’s plane and processing the necessary agenda and documents.</p><p>In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Mina Acorda Baylon, the victim&#x27;s sister, said Hossu is facing only charges of manslaughter, which has a penalty of 7 to 12 years in prison, but their family is seeking to elevate it to murder.<br/> <br/>The family also hopes the Philippine government would help them in making sure the case would progress fast to give justice to Henry&#x27;s death.</p>

<p>MANILA - The Prime Minister of Slovakia has assured the Philippine government that justice would be served in the case of slain Filipino Henry John Acorda, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.</p>

MANILA - The Prime Minister of Slovakia has assured the Philippine government that justice would be served in the case of slain Filipino Henry John Acorda, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.