At least two of the persons charged with murdering journalist Ján Kuciak, for legal reasons identified only as Alena Zs. and Tomas Sz., were allegedly hired also to kill Deputy Prosecutor-General Peter Šufliarsky, the aktuality.sk website reported on Thursday. "Criminal prosecution for murder at the preparatory stage has been launched," a source confirmed for the website. Inhabitants of the village where Šufliarsky lives have confirmed for the website that the police are collecting camera recordings.
"This is sensitive information. In this regard, the first deputy prosecutor-general asks the media not to publish any information concerning the alleged preparation of premeditated murder, and to allow law enforcement bodies to take action," Prosecutor-General's Office spokesperson Andrea Predajňová said on Thursday for the TASR press agency.
Ján Kuciak was an investigative journalist working for the news website Aktuality.sk. He and his fiancée were murdered in their house in Veľká Mača, south-western Slovakia, in February with gunshots from a 9 mm pistol. A prosecutor has pressed charges against the person who allegedly paid for the murder (Alena Zs.), the intermediary (Zoltan A.), the accomplice (Miroslav M.) and the hitman (Tomas Sz.). They are all in custody at the moment.
The Dennik N daily reported late on Wednesday, October 3, that Zoltan A., one of the accused in the Kuciak case who is cooperating with the police, had indicated that the journalist's murder was ordered by the controversial businessman Marian Kočner. The accused allegedly said that he had obtained this information from Alena Zs. who has also been charged, as she allegedly paid the killer €70,000 for the hit on the journalist. The Supreme Court was presented on Thursday with the complaints of the persons charged in the criminal case. In accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Supreme Court will rule over the complaints at a non-public session within five working days.
On Thursday, the police issued a statement claiming it would not comment on information reported by the media that the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak had been allegedly ordered by the controversial entrepreneur Marian Kočner, who has been charged with counterfeiting promissory notes and is currently awaiting trial in custody.
