Ján Kuciak

Memorial for the murdered couple on the Slovak National Uprising Square in Bratislava in March 2018

Ján Kuciak (born May 17, 1990 in Štiavnik ; † February 21, 2018 in Veľká Mača ) was a Slovak journalist who was murdered with his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in February 2018. His death sparked the exposure of a number of links between Slovak politicians, criminal businessmen and organized crime . The nationwide protests that followed led to a socio-political crisis and the resignation of the prime minister, the interior minister and the police chief.

Life

Ján Kuciak studied journalism at the philosopher Konstantin University in Nitra . He was unable to complete his ongoing doctorate . In 2015, he became the editor of the news portal aktuellity.sk , which belongs to Ringier Axel Springer Slovakia . Kuciak specialized in research into corruption and tax offenses in Slovakia and reported on these cases on the portal Künstity.sk .

His research focused primarily on prominent entrepreneurs. According to his research, these are said to have had business connections with the Social Democrats in power at the time, as well as with organized crime. Like the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was murdered in Malta , Kuciak was involved in the evaluation of the Panama Papers , which deal with tax havens .

According to Kuciak's research, head of government Robert Fico's personal assistant Mária Trošková was a former business partner and partner of Antonino Vadalà . Vadalà was identified in Kuciak's research as the most important mastermind behind the Italian mafia network in Slovakia.

In the fall of 2017, Kuciak received threats and filed a complaint with the police. One of the entrepreneurs, Marián Kočner , whose business Kuciak had last worked on, threatened him publicly because of these reports: He wanted to collect similar "dirty reports" about Kuciak and his family, as the journalist had done.

assassination

On February 21, 2018, Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were shot dead in his home in Veľká Mača near Trnava in western Slovakia. On February 25, Kuciak was found dead; he and his fiancée had gunshot wounds to the chest and head. The time of the crime initially remained unclear. Kuciak's fiancée last reported to her family four days before the bodies were found. Since her mother could not reach her for days, she alerted the police.

Investigation and trial

After the murder, the police launched an extensive investigation and brought in the National Criminal Agency (NAKA). A special team of investigators was deployed to clarify the situation; In addition, the Slovak government offered a reward of one million euros for clues that lead to the perpetrators.

On March 1, 2018, it became known that the Slovak police had arrested several Italian businessmen. There were searches and arrests in several places in Slovakia. The names of the men had appeared in Kuciak's last article. The police spoke of an "Italian trace". The entrepreneurs are said to be in contact with Calabrian mafia groups, including the 'Ndrangheta , and have specialized in tax fraud and abuse of EU subsidies in Slovakia . Those arrested were all later released from custody.

On September 28, 2018, the police arrested eight men. She applied for pre-trial detention for three of them; they are charged with murder and other crimes. At first it was believed that the investigation would be a quick success; later there were indications that the murder was covered by politicians and authorities. One of the suspected arrested persons, Alena Zsuzsová, is said to have brokered the murder assignment and there is much evidence that the businessman Marián Kočner was the client. Kočner was taken into custody in June 2018 for several economic crimes.

In autumn 2018, former secret service employee Péter Tóth testified that he had shadowed Kuciak on behalf of Kočner. Ján Kuciak's personal data was retrieved from the database of the Slovak police by a police officer a few months before his murder. According to the Slovak media, this happened on the orders of the then police chief Tibor Gašpar , which he denied. Gašpar had to resign because of the affair about the background of the murder in his function as advisor to the then Interior Minister Denisa Saková .

In April 2019, according to Slovak media reports, a former soldier confessed to having shot Kuciak. The investigations were concluded at the end of September 2019. Four people were identified as suspects: the former police officer Tomáš Szabó, the former soldier Miroslav Marček , the entrepreneur Zoltán Andruskó and the interpreter Alena Zsuzsová.

On October 21, 2019, the Slovak public prosecutor brought charges against four suspects, including Marian Kočner as the alleged client. The public prosecutor's office recommended a separate agreement with the confessed accomplice Zoltán Andruskó. The key witness signed an agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on December 30, 2019. He is charged with mediating the contract murder for a fee.

On December 19, 2019, a preliminary hearing against the other alleged perpetrators took place in a special court in Pezinok , during which the court's senate accepted the indictment and set the main hearing to start on January 13, 2020.

At the beginning of the main hearing, the defendant Miroslav Marček confessed to the crime after reading out the indictment. Together with his cousin Tomáš Szabó, who drove him to the crime scene, he received 35,000 to 40,000 euros for the murder. The other three defendants pleaded not guilty, only Kočner admitted unauthorized possession of weapons. On April 6, 2020, the Pezinok court sentenced Miroslav Marček to 23 years in prison for murder. However, because of the gravity of the crime, the prosecution insisted on the maximum sentence and appealed. On December 2, 2020, the Supreme Court sentenced Marček to 25 years in prison on appeal.

On September 3, 2020, Tomáš Szabó, who drove the shooter to Kuciak's house, was found guilty of involvement in the murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Kočner was fined 5,000 euros for illegally possessing weapons. However, he and Alena Zsuzsová were acquitted of allegations of involvement in the murder “for lack of evidence”. The public prosecutor had demanded 25 years imprisonment for her and appealed against the judgment. On June 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of Slovakia overturned the acquittals against Marián Kočner and Alena Zsuzsová. The court concluded that the criminal court had made "several mistakes"; the process is completely re-rolled.

Reactions after the murder

Demonstration in Bratislava on March 9, 2018

Memorial march for Ján Kuciak and his fiancée in Brno on March 2, 2018

Politicians in the Slovak government and the opposition expressed their dismay and called for an explanation. The Czech Christian Democrat Marian Jurečka appealed to the political representatives of his country, the Czech Republic , to use a more careful choice of words. The Czech President Miloš Zeman had "joked" with his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin that journalists should be liquidated. According to media reports, the words were spoken in May 2017 on the sidelines of a visit by the two politicians to Beijing. According to Jurečka, the consequences can now be seen in practice in Slovakia.

Several Slovak media have posthumously published Kuciak's last, incomplete report. In it he discussed connections between the Mafia and the office of the Social Democratic Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to the daily Sme , there was a fire in the Košice tax office on February 27, 2018 . It is believed that documents on which Kuciak relied were burned. Robert Fico offered a reward of 1 million euros for tips on how to catch the perpetrators. At the same time, however, he was known for sharp criticism of the media and insults against journalists, especially the newspapers Sme and Pravda . According to ORF.at , Kuciak had specialized in his research on alleged members of the 'Ndrangheta in eastern Slovakia, on tax fraud with bogus invoices and on fraud with EU funding. Liaison officers from the mafia organization can already be found in the Prime Minister's office. The political analyst Grigorij Meseznikov expects that the murder and “its possible connections to the Slovak political elite” could trigger a “political earthquake”.

On February 28, 2018, Minister of Culture Marek Maďarič (SMER) resigned. Even before that, he was considered an internal party critic who criticized the entanglement of politics and the business world. In December 2017, he had already given up his function as one of the deputy party leaders of the social democratic ruling party of Prime Minister Robert Fico and several times in interviews  suggested that Fico's first deputy - Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák - resign. This is suspected of having business relationships with alleged tax fraudsters, against whom the murdered journalist Kuciak was researching. The Most Hid party , which belongs to Robert Fico's three-party coalition, has announced that it will be discussing an end to the collaboration. Most Hid had also called for Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák to resign because of the murder of Kuciak. Kaliňák finally resigned on March 12, 2018. In the days before, tens of thousands of citizens had demonstrated in Bratislava and other cities and asked Kaliňák and Fico to resign.

The two murders also startled the European Union. EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger said in a newspaper interview that he thinks it is possible that EU payments to the agricultural sector have been “misused for criminal purposes”. "In a few weeks we will have clarity about the financial flows and possible abuse." According to the wishes of the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the EU Parliament, David McAllister (CDU), the European Parliament should also deal with the case. He asked the Slovak authorities to investigate the case and punish the perpetrators.

The Slovak President Andrej Kiska sees a comprehensive government reshuffle or new elections as necessary in order to solve the political crisis that has arisen and to regain the trust of the people. Interior Minister Kaliňák announced his resignation on March 12, 2018. Most-Hid , the smallest of the three ruling coalition parties, also joined the call for new elections on March 12th . The opposition party SaS introduced a motion of censure against the Fico government in parliament , which was due to be voted on on March 19. On March 14, 2018, Fico himself offered his resignation, which was accepted by President Kiska the next day.

Also in March 2018, the Slovak police arrested Antonino Vadalà , whom they had arrested shortly after the double murder and then released. This time the basis was a European arrest warrant . He was accused of drug trafficking and organized crime.

In the course of the investigation, the investigators accidentally came across new evidence of a bribery affair from 2005 and 2006, which in 2011 became known in Slovakia as the "Gorilla" cause . It was about bribes to politicians and high administrative officials in return for public contracts. At the time, those involved denied all allegations and described alleged minutes of the meeting as falsifications. A USB stick with 39 hours of sound recordings of the conversations in question was found in Marian Kočner's apartment. Kočner is said to have bought the recordings from an unknown person and then sold them on to a suspect at the time at a high profit. The recordings were leaked anonymously to the press in mid-October 2019 and caused outrage among the population. The President of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputová declared the "Gorilla" affair a "symbol of the political corruption of a whole generation".

In September 2019, the State Secretary for Justice Monika Jankovska resigned; she was charged with obstructing judicial proceedings against Marián Kočner for bribes. Several judges and prosecutors also lost their posts due to alleged cooperation with Kočner. On November 7, 2019, Parliament's Vice- President Martin Glváč resigned, anticipating an impending impeachment prepared by the opposition because of Glváč's alleged close ties to Kočner. Glváč, however, denies having supported Kočner's fraud and corruption activities and sees himself as a victim of political intrigue and forged documents.

Former Attorney General Dobroslav Trnka was arrested on January 16, 2020. He is accused of protecting Kočner from criminal prosecution for years.

Several people were arrested in March 2020, including 13 high-ranking judges, former Justice Secretary Monika Jankovska and the Vice-Chairwoman of the Supreme Court. The arrested are suspected of corruption, abuse of office , thwarting legal proceedings and endangering the independence of the judiciary. In September 2020, three other judges were arrested on suspicion of corruption. Jankovska admitted in November 2020 that he had influenced court proceedings for Kočner, but denied the allegation that he had accepted money for them.

The former police chief Tibor Gašpar and other former high-ranking police officers were sentenced to pre-trial detention in November 2020, as the court saw the risk of influencing witnesses.

Effect and remembrance

On May 3, 2018, the Axel Springer Verlag posthumously awarded Kuciak a special prize at the awarding of the Axel Springer Prize for young journalists . Kuciak's sister Maria and other journalists from actuality.sk accepted the award, which was awarded for the first time.

The European Parliament sent a delegation to Slovakia to investigate the case. Delegation member Ingeborg Gräßle sees a major problem in the structure of land ownership, which makes it easy for the Slovak and Italian mafia to steal EU agricultural subsidies. Ján Kuciak is credited with bringing the systematic blackmail of farmers to the public.

On the one-year anniversary of Ján Kuciak's death on February 21, 2019, thousands of people took part in commemorative events in Bratislava and more than 30 other cities in the country. In front of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Berlin, the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and Reporters Without Borders (ROG) held a short memorial service calling on the Slovak authorities to prosecute the murder.

In 2019, Kuciak was posthumously awarded the George Weidenfeld Special Prize for courageous research .

See also

• History of Slovakia #Smer sole government (2012-2016)

Web links

• Author-profile at actuality.sk (Slovak)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Na Slovensku zavraždili novináře, pravděpodobně kvůli jeho práci investigativní. Premiér Fico slíbil za dopadení pachatele milion eur. In: erned.cz . February 26, 2018, accessed March 1, 2018 (Czech). 
2. ↑ He was on the trail of tax fraudsters in Slovakia. Ringier journalist († 27) and fiancée shot. In: blick.ch . February 26, 2018, accessed March 1, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Slovakia - Investigative journalist murdered. In: deutschlandfunk.de . February 26, 2018, archived from the original on February 27, 2018 ; accessed on March 1, 2018 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Slovak investigator reporter found shot. In: stol.it . February 26, 2018, archived from the original on April 8, 2020 ; accessed on March 1, 2018 . 
5. ^ ^{A b} Kilian Kirchgeßner: Murder in Slovakia - investigative journalist shot. (No longer available online.) In: tagesschau.de . February 26, 2018, archived from the original on February 26, 2018 ; accessed on February 26, 2018 . 
6. ^ ^{A b} Vinzenz Greiner: Mafia man Vadala and 16 other people captured. In: blick.ch. May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018 . 
7. ^ Vinzenz Greiner: This is how the mafia infiltrated the Slovak state. In: blick.ch. February 28, 2018, accessed March 12, 2018 . 
8. ^ ^{A b} Slovak police: arrests in connection with journalist murder. In: dw.com . March 1, 2018, accessed March 1, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Springer and Ringier “horrified and stunned” about the murder of investigative journalist Kuciak and his fiancée. In: Meedia . February 26, 2018, accessed February 26, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Dve nábojnice a žiadne stopy zápasu (celé vyhlásenie prokurátora). In: sme.sk . March 26, 2018, accessed November 7, 2019 (Slovak).
11. ↑ Vražda investigatívneho novinára: reportera († 27) s priateľkou zabili v I dome. In: Nový Čas. February 26, 2018, accessed February 26, 2018 (Slovak). 
12. ↑ Critical journalist Jan Kuciak murdered. In: wienerzeitung.at . February 26, 2018, accessed November 7, 2019.
13. ↑ Horror after journalist murder - research possible motive. In: orf.at . February 26, 2018, accessed March 13, 2020.
14. ↑ Rob Cameron: Slovakia grapples with murdered journalist's last story. In: BBC News . February 28, 2018, accessed March 1, 2018 . 
15. ↑ Murdered journalist Ján Kuciak: Slovak authorities release suspects. In: spiegel.de . March 3, 2018, accessed March 5, 2018 . 
16. ↑ Three suspects charged in the Kuciak murder case. In: zeit.de . September 28, 2018, accessed March 4, 2020.
17. ↑ Doubts about the investigation into the Kuciak murder case. In: dw.com. 28th September 2018.
18. ↑ Zsuzsová bola mesiac po vražde Kuciaka a Kušnírovej medzi smotánkou: Pozrite sa na jej pravú tvár! In: cas.sk . February 9, 2019, accessed October 31, 2019 (Slovak).
19. ↑ ^{a b} Murder of Ján Kuciak: What did the state know? In: dw.com. February 21, 2019, accessed February 26, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Ex-soldier confessed to the murder of a Slovak journalist. In: diepresse.com . April 11, 2019, accessed June 16, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Slovakia: Investigation into the Kuciak murder case completed. In: orf.at. September 25, 2019, accessed September 26, 2019 . 
22. ↑ Murder of journalists in Slovakia: four suspects charged. In: derstandard.at. October 21, 2019, accessed October 21, 2019 . 
23. ↑ ^{a b} Gerald Schubert: New details of an old scandal shake Slovakia. In: derstandard.at. October 21, 2019, accessed October 21, 2019 . 
24. ↑ ^{a b} Journalist murdered: main trial in the Kuciak case starts. In: orf.at . January 13, 2020, accessed January 13, 2020.
25. ↑ Key witness in the Kuciak murder case sentenced to 15 years in prison. In: derstandard.at. December 30, 2019, accessed December 30, 2019 . 
26. ↑ The main hearing in the Kuciak murder case did not take place until January. In: derstandard.at. December 19, 2019, accessed December 19, 2019 . 
27. ↑ Keno Verseck: Trial for murder of journalists in Slovakia: In the name of the people. In: spiegel.de . December 18, 2019, accessed December 19, 2019.
28. ↑ Defendant confesses to murdering journalists in Slovakia. In: orf.at . January 13, 2020, accessed January 13, 2020.
29. ↑ Defendant sentenced to 23 years in prison. In: Zeit Online . April 6, 2020, accessed April 7, 2020.
30. ^ Journalist murder in Slovakia: 25 years in prison. In: orf.at . December 2, 2020, accessed December 2, 2020.
31. ^ Kuciak murder: acquittal for a Slovak millionaire. In: orf.at . September 3, 2020, accessed the same day.
32. ↑ Ivo Mijnssen: A murdered journalist, an oligarch, two robbers and treacherous threema chats in Slovakia: prime suspect in Kuciak process acquitted. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, September 3, 2020.
33. ↑ Acquittal in the murder case of Ján Kuciak: Slovakia in shock. In: spiegel.de . September 3, 2020, accessed September 3, 2020.
34. ↑ Stephan Löwenstein: acquittal in the Kuciak case - a strange judgment. Comment . In: faz.net . September 3, 2020, accessed September 17, 2020.
35. ↑ ^{a b} Slovak court imposes pre-trial detention on ex-police chief. In: derstandard.at . November 9, 2020, accessed December 2, 2020.
36. ↑ tagesschau.de: Supreme Court of Slovakia overturns acquittals in the Kuciak murder case. Retrieved June 15, 2021 . 
37. ↑ Tax fraud and corruption - Mafia is said to be behind the murder of journalists in Slovakia. In: faz.net . February 28, 2018, accessed November 17, 2019.
38. ↑ Trace leads to 'Ndrangheta - Liaison officers in government? In: orf.at. February 28, 2018, accessed May 10, 2020.
39. ^ After the murder of a journalist. Slovak Minister of Culture resigns. In: spiegel.de . February 28, 2017, accessed March 1, 2018.
40. ↑ Murdered Slovak journalist - EU parliament wants to investigate death. (No longer available online.) In: tagesschau.de. March 3, 2018, archived from the original on March 4, 2018 ; accessed on December 4, 2020 . 
41. ↑ ^{a b c} Prime Minister Fico has to face a vote of no confidence. In: faz.net. March 13, 2018, accessed April 14, 2019 . 
42. ↑ ^{a b} Slovakia. EU deals with journalist murder. In: spiegel.de . March 1, 2018, accessed March 1, 2018 . 
43. ^ Journalist murder : Slovak President calls for new elections. In: spiegel.de . March 4, 2018, accessed March 6, 2018 . 
44. ^ After journalist murder : Slovak interior minister resigns. In: spiegel.de . March 12, 2018, accessed March 13, 2018 . 
45. ↑ Crisis after the murder of journalists - Slovak head of government has to face a vote of no confidence. In: spiegel.de . March 13, 2018, accessed October 23, 2019 . 
46. ↑ Slovak Prime Minister Fico resigns. In: sueddeutsche.de . March 15, 2018, accessed October 21, 2019.
47. ↑ Suspicion of corruption network outraged Slovakia. In: orf.at . October 18, 2019, accessed October 21, 2019.
48. ^ Journalist murder : politician in Slovakia resigns. In: orf.at . November 7, 2019, accessed November 7, 2019.
49. ^ Journalist murder trial: Slovak police arrest public prosecutor. In: derstandard.at . January 16, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020.
50. ↑ Kuciak murder: 13 judges arrested in Slovakia. In: orf.at . March 11, 2020, accessed March 11, 2020.
51. ↑ The Kuciak case: Prominent judges arrested in Slovakia. In: orf.at . September 14, 2020, accessed September 14, 2020.
52. ^ Former Slovak State Secretary helped journalist murder accused. In: derstandard.at . November 26, 2020, accessed December 2, 2020.
53. ↑ Special prize for murdered reporter Ján Kuciak. In: bz-berlin.de. May 3, 2018, accessed May 27, 2019 . 
54. ↑ Lukas Tagwerker: Slovakia one year after the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak. In: fm4.orf.at . February 23, 2019, accessed June 16, 2019 . 
55. ^ Draft report on the fact-finding mission to Slovakia. (PDF; 2.2 MB) European Parliament, January 30, 2019, accessed on June 16, 2019 . 
56. ↑ Thousands demonstrate for a “decent Slovakia”. In: suedostschweiz.ch. February 21, 2019, accessed November 9, 2019 . 
57. ^ Memorial event for Ján Kuciak. In: reporter-ohne-grenzen.de. February 21, 2019, accessed March 6, 2019 . 
58. ↑ Axel Springer Prize awarded to young journalists. In: deutschlandfunkkultur.de May 2, 2019, accessed on May 2, 2019.