IFJ Welcomes Start Of Trial For Killers Of Slovak Investigative Journalist

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and nine other organizations have signed a letter on Friday welcoming the start of the trial of Marian Kocner and three others accused in the 2018 murder of Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and nine other organizations have signed a letter on Friday welcoming the start of the trial of Marian Kocner and three others accused in the 2018 murder of Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova.

Slovak businessman Kocner, his confidante Alena Zsuzsova and the two men tasked with the killing, Tomas Szabo and Miroslav Marcek, are currently standing trial for their alleged role in murdering Kuciak in retaliation for investigating alleged links between senior Slovak politicians and organized crime syndicates. Kuciak and Kusnirova were killed in the village of Velka Maca in south-west Slovakia on February 21, 2018.

"The undersigned organizations believe that the start of the trial marks an important step toward securing justice for Ján and Martina and for their families, who have suffered a deep and irreplaceable loss. We stand in solidarity with them," the ten journalistic organizations said in a statement published on the IFJ's website.

The organizations also call on the Slovak justice system to ensure the legitimacy and transparency of the trial, as well as establish a framework to prevent further attacks on journalists in the country.

On Monday, Marcek pleaded guilty to murdering Kuciak and Kusnirova at the start of the trial which is taking place in the city of Pezinok, northeast of the capital of Bratislava.

In late December, Zoltan Andrusko, the fifth person in the case, admitted to acting as an intermediary between those who ordered the killing and those who executed it. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a separate proceeding, based on his plea bargain deal with prosecutors.

The murder of Kuciak and Kusnirova shocked Slovakia, and led to the largest public demonstrations since 1989. The uproar also prompted a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in September, which the prime minister survived.