SECRET DEAL TO SEND HOME KILLER
Moira family in dark over jail switch
The killer of Moira Jones has been given a secret transfer to a prison in Slovakia.
Marek Harcar was sentenced to at least 25 years for murdering the businesswoman. bus But he wrangled a move back to his homeland af ter being discharged from the State Hospital in Carstairs.
Harcar – who murdered Moira 10 years ago – was repatriated so he could be closer to his family.
The killer of Moira Jones has secretly been moved to his native Slovakia to serve the rest of his sentence near his family.
Marek Harcar was transferred after an agreement was reached between authorities in Scotland and his homeland.
The 42-year- old managed to get his request rubber-stamped after he was released from the State Hospital at Carstairs, where experts said he could not be treated.
Moira’s parents were not of f icial ly told about the murderer’s repatriation by the Scottish Prison Service and found out about the move through a third party.
The Joneses are preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of businesswoman Moira’s death.
A source close to the family said: “Moira’s parents weren’t told officially about Harcar’s move but they are aware that he is now in Slovakia. The family found out about it themselves.”
Moira’s mum Bea confirmed the family were aware Harcar had been moved back to his homeland but did not wish to comment further on it.
She said: “Moira is continually in our thoughts. We will never forget her and we will mark the 10th anniversary of her death in a private way with family and friends.”
Harcar was jailed for life in 2009 for the rape and murder of Moira on May 28, 2008. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years.
The killer spent months appealing his conviction before abandoning that bid and plotting a move home instead.
He was transferred from Saughton jail in Edinburgh to Carstairs, Lanarkshire, in 2015 but doctors deemed him untreatable.
Harcar was then held with other sex offenders in Glenochil prison, Clackmannanshire, before being flown to Slovakia in November 2016. The rapist was initially held at the infamous Leopoldov prison, a 17th- century fortress converted into a high- security jail where
political prisoners were held during the communist era.
Prison bosses moved the rapist to a small facility in the town of Banska Bystrica last year.
The jail has a capacity for 400 prisoners and currently holds 343.
Following Harcar’s repatriation, a court in Slovakia endorsed the decision and sentence of the High Court in Scotland.
A Slovak police spokesman confirmed Harcar had initially been accepted back into the country in November 2016 and is being held under maximum security conditions.
A source said: “There is no home release for him. But his family can make non-contact visits, he can shop in the prison, use the telephone and go out inside the prison area.
“Slovakia accepted the Scottish judgment. A court discounted the years he spent in Scottish prisons, so he must serve another 15 years at least.”
The move was made under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “We have a variety of exchange agreements in place with other jurisdictions.”
Prison rules in Slovakia state there should be no longer than seven hours between meals and prisoners have the right to a continuous eight-hour sleep.
They also have the right to exercise in the open space within the grounds for a minimum of an hour a day.
A two- hour fami ly visit is permitted once a month and a 15-minute phone call is allowed to family twice a month.
Prisoners can also receive a
No one was told about Harcar’s move but the family are aware he’s now in Slovakia
5kg parcel of food and approved personal items every three months.
Harcar moved to Liverpool in 2007 to live among young east ern Europeans who had settled there to take on agency work, including shifts in food production factories.
By the time he came to Britain – 15 months before he killed Moira – he had amassed 13 convictions.
He received a seven-month prison sentence in Slovakia for violent offences and had four other convictions in Slovakia and the Czech Republ ic involving violence.
Harcar arrived in Glasgow just 10 days before killing Moira.
On the day of the murder, he spent the afternoon in his bedsit downing cans of beer and drinking a bottle of vodka with tonic.
That night, he abducted the 40-year-old, who had returned home to her flat in Queen’s Park, Glasgow, and was parking her Toyota 4x4.
CCTV footage showed Harcar staggering and taking Moira into Queen’s Park.
She suffered 65 injuries after Harcar raped, beat and stamped on her.
Her body was found the following day.
On June 1, Harcar boarded a flight to the Czech Republic and took a bus over the border to Slovakia.
Police traced him via DNA samples from his Glasgow flat and ar rested him at his grandmother’s home in the village of Nalepkovo.
The brutality of the crime shocked Scotland and there was further anger when it emerged Harcar had been allowed to enter the UK despite his string of convictions for violence.
He also forced Moira’s family to go through the agony of a trial by refusing to admit murder – despite an overwhelming case against him, including DNA evidence.
After her death, the family set up the Moira Fund, a charity offering financial support to murder victims’ relatives.
The fund state on their website: “In the pain- f i l led months following Moira’s death, as they awaited the trial of the k i l ler, Moira’s family were bewildered, stunned and gr ieving terribly. They struggled on, each trying to help the other, and they had wonderful support from family and friends.”
Moira’s mother has continued to campaign for the rights of the families of victims of crime.
Last month, Bea welcomed new funding to Victim Support Scotland for work that will include providing murder v ictims’ fami l ies with a dedicated case worker.
but the family are aware he’s now in Slovakia