Outrage in Slovakia
Journalist murder: businessman acquitted again
05/19/2023 9:04 p.m
Who ordered the murder of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancé? Years after the crime, the legal investigation of the background continues. A well-known businessman is repeatedly acquitted. His co-defendant received a long prison sentence.
Five years after the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancé, a Slovakian court has acquitted businessman Marian Kocner in a new trial. Judge Ruzena Sabova said it had not been proven that the accused ordered the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak. “There were doubts.”
However, the court found Alena Zsuzsova, who was also charged, guilty. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a fine of 160,000 euros to the victims’ families. Both Kocner and Zsuzsova are currently serving sentences for other crimes.
27-year-old Kuciak and his fiancé, Martina Kusnirova, were shot dead at home in 2018. Kuciak had researched connections between the Italian mafia and Slovakian politicians and also dealt with Kocner’s businesses. Kocner was in contact with high-ranking politicians.
Prosecutors are expected to appeal Kocner’s verdict. The families of the two victims criticized the verdict. “Zsuzsova convicted, Kocner acquitted – I don’t understand that,” said Jozef Kuciak, the father of the murdered investigative journalist. “We won’t leave it at that.” The mother of the murdered Martina Kusnirova called the verdict a “shame”.
Ex-soldier carried out the murder
Kocner and Zsuzsova were initially acquitted in the murder case. However, Slovakia’s Supreme Court overturned the acquittals in 2021 after finding “several errors” in the previous trial. In a statement in 2020, the millionaire had protested his innocence. “I’m not a saint, but I’m not a murderer either.”
The murder was carried out by ex-soldier Miroslav Marcek, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in December 2020. The double murder had caused shock throughout Europe. In Slovakia it triggered a crisis and the largest demonstrations since the end of communism and led to the resignation of then Prime Minister Robert Fico.