The Freedom of Speech Memorial was officially unveiled in the village of Veľká Mača on Saturday. It is located on the site of the house where murdered journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová lived.
The memorial was built at the site of their murders, which took place on February 21, 2018, at the request of their families and on the initiative of the Trnava Self-Governing Region. Its design was selected through a public architectural competition won by Benjamin Bradňanský, Vít Halada and Martin Piaček.
Their design, entitled Garden, uses an inclined plane as a metaphor for a society thrown off balance. The slope rises towards the horizon, symbolising hope.
Jozef Kuciak, the murdered journalist’s father, expressed his gratitude for the memorial in his speech.
“That’s the uphill path towards the horizon and the grassy area. So, as I say, this should be a path to hope. However, whether there will be any depends on all of us,” he said.
“I’d like to call on everyone to let this serve as a reminder for future generations and for us all to start with ourselves. So that no one ever has to go through what we did, coming here without them, going to court and still fighting for truth and justice,” said Zlatica Kušnírová, Martina’s mother.
Martin Piaček, one of the memorial’s creators, said the aim was to establish a space that would commemorate the tragedy while also offering hope for the future.
“One end of this sloping garden descends into the terrain, creating a space for quiet, undisturbed contemplation. At the other end, it lifts our gaze above the horizon, inviting us to rise above the everyday and strive for the ideals of a meaningful and dignified life. The garden’s vegetation and surfaces will shift subtly with the weather and the seasons, thereby reflecting the passage of time,” he explained.
Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová were murdered in their house in Veľká Mača on February 21, 2018.
Three people have been sentenced in connection with the murders. Miroslav Marček and Tomáš Szabó are serving 25-year prison sentences, while Zoltán Andruskó was sentenced to 15 years. The case against the alleged masterminds, Marian Kočner and Alena Zsuzsová, has yet to reach a final verdict.
Source: TASR
