Five years ago, on 21 February 2018, investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were murdered in the village of Veľká Mača, western Slovakia. The police found the bodies of the murdered couple only a few days later on 25 February. Few days later, then Prime Minister Robert Fico, in the presence of Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD) and Police President Tibor Gašpar, promised a reward of one million euros for information leading to the discovery of the perpetrators of the murder. Another strong moment was the publication of the unfinished article by Ján Kuciak on the activities of the Italian mafia in Slovakia and its links to politicians. On 9 March, people joined together and the first Za Slušné Slovensko, For decent Slovakia protest was held in Bratislava, where tens of thousands of people gathered. It was the biggest protest since the Velvet Revolution, with about 40,000 people in the streets in Bratislava. Participants demanded a thorough and independent investigation into the murder and a new, credible government. #AllForJan badges have become a popular way to honour the memory of the murdered investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. On 14 March 2018, following a meeting with then President Andrej Kiska, then Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that he would resign to avoid early elections and "solve the political crisis". There were personnel changes also in the police leadership.
On 28 September 2018, police charged Tomáš Szabó, Miroslav Marček, Zoltán Andruskó and Alena Zsuzsová with the particularly serious crime of premeditated murder and other crimes. In October 2018, a prosecutor from the General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic reported that the order to murder the journalist was for the sum of 50,000 euros and the other 20,000 euros was a debt forgiveness. On 4 March 2019, businessman Marian Kočner was charged with ordering the murder of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová. In April 2019, Miroslav Marček confessed to shooting Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová. A few days later, Zoltán Andruskó, who was accused of facilitating Kuciak's murder, entered into a plea bargain with the special prosecutor. Zoltán Andruskó was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in medium security for the murder of Ján Kuciak. The main trial began on 13 January 2020 at the Special Criminal Court in Pezinok. On 6 April 2020, Marček was sentenced to 23 years in prison after his case was allocated a separate trial. The trial of Kočner, Zsuzsová and Szabó lasted 22 days. In a verdict delivered on 3 September 2020, Tomáš Szabó was found guilty of involvement in the murder of Kuciak and Kušnírová, the murder of Peter Molnár, and of unauthorised carrying of weapons, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Marian Kočner was found guilty of unauthorised carrying of weapons and given a fine of €5,000. Kočner and Alena Zsuzsová were acquitted of charges related to the murders of Kuciak and Kušnírová. The court stated that their involvement in the murders was not proved beyond reasonable doubt. In summer of 2021, the Supreme Court overturned the acquittal of Kočner and Zsuzsová, returning the case to the Special Criminal Court for further consideration. On 23 January, the President of the Senate of the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok Ružena Sabová, indicated that a final verdict could be handed down in April.
Source: TASR
