All four persons charged in the case of the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová have been sent to custody, decided the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Banská Bystrica on Sunday. For legal reasons, these individuals are identified as Tomas Sz., Miroslav M., Zoltan A. and Alena Zs. According to information in the media, interpreter Alena Zs. is reportedly the hiring party of this crime. The prosecutor did not comment on this.
The police accused the persons after intervening in the towns of Kolárovo and Komárno (both Nitra region) last week. The three men were accused of the serious crime of premeditated murder and other crimes. Charges of the serious crime of premeditated murder in the form of participation were pressed against a 44-year-old woman, Alena Zs. All three men charged with the murders refuse to plead guilty. "It is all still in the state of pressing charges and there is no room for exaggerative optimism. However, there is a big supposition that the case could be successfully resolved," said Prosecutor General Jaromír Čižnár. According to the Supervising Prosecutor, the person who ordered the murder paid a minimum of €70,000: €50,000 in cash and €20,000 as debt relief.
Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were murdered in their house in the village of Veľká Mača, Nitra Region at the end of February 2018. Kuciak was an investigative anti-corruption journalist who wrote about the controversial businessman Marián Kočner, alleged links between the Italian mafia and Slovak leading politicians and the Slovak police as well as about frauds related to the use of EU funds. After his death, Prime Minister Robert Fico, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and President of the Police Corps Tibor Gašpar stepped down.
