'Slovakia: Renewed calls for justice ahead of Ján Kuciak murder verdict', August 04, 2020

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today renewed its call for justice for Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, as a court in Pezinok prepares to issue a verdict in the trial of their suspected killers on Wednesday. Kuciak, whose work for the online news site Aktuality.sk uncovered allegations of tax fraud and financial crime implicating prominent business and political leaders in Slovakia, and Kušnírová were killed in their home on 21 February 2018. The double murder sparked the largest protests in Slovakia since the Velvet Revolution, and led to the resignations of the Prime Minister Róbert Fico, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, Culture Minister Marek Maďarič, and Chief of Police Tibor Gašpar. After 22 days of hearings, the Specialized Criminal Court is expected to issue a verdict in the murder trial on Wednesday, 5 August… Prosecutors have alleged that controversial businessman Marian Kočner ordered Kuciak’s killing in response to Kuciak’s coverage of Kočner’s political and financial dealings, and asked a trusted associate, Alena Zsuzsová, to arrange it. Zsuzsová is said to have contracted a middleman, Zoltán Andruskó, who then in turn hired a pair of cousins, Tomáš Szabó and Miroslav Marček, to carry out the deed...