Bratislava, Jan 26, (dpa/GNA) – A new trial of the two main defendants accused of masterminding the murder of a journalist and his fiancée eight years ago, began in Slovakia on Monday.
Prosecutors allege that the businessman Marián Kocner, together with an accomplice, ordered and paid for the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak.
The two contract killers were each sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2020, and one accomplice to 15 years.
However, establishing who ordered the murder has proved more difficult.
The special court responsible for organized crime in Pezinok, north-east of Bratislava, acquitted Kocner in 2020 and again in 2023 due to a lack of clear-cut evidence.
These acquittals surprised many, especially as information leaked to the media from the investigations had given the impression that the authorities had unequivocal evidence.
But both judgements by the court in Pezinok were overturned by the Supreme Court of Slovakia. In its latest decision, in May 2025, the Supreme Court also withdrew the proceedings from the judges previously involved in the case.
The new trial that began on Monday will therefore take place at the same specialized court again, but before three new judges.
At the start of the trial on Monday, the main defendant Kocner and his alleged accomplice Alena Z once again rejected all accusations as unfounded. It is not clear how long the trial will last.
The 27-year-old Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, who was the same age, were shot dead in their home in the village of Velká Maca on February 21, 2018.
Kuciak had reported on alleged criminal links between politicians and business figures, including Kocner.
The double murder triggered mass demonstrations, that led to the fall of the then government of left-wing nationalist Robert Fico and a purge of the police and judiciary.
Fico has since returned to power after winning the parliamentary elections in 2023.
GNA