The court in Slovakia sentenced former military man Miroslav Marcek to 23 years in prison for shooting investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his girlfriend in 2018. The man previously made a confession.
According to the court, the act was “cold-blooded”. “The victims have not had a chance to defend themselves.”
The country’s prosecutor had asked for a 25-year prison sentence and appealed immediately after hearing the verdict.
Marcek is said to have acted on behalf of Marián Kocner. The well-known businessman himself claims that he is innocent. His case will be served at a later date. Kocner was mentioned in Kuciak’s work on fraud cases involving businessmen with political connections. This would eventually have led to the death of the journalist.
The murders led to mass demonstrations against corruption in the Central European country. Public anger at the murders resulted in Prime Minister Robert Fico stepping down last year. His political party Smer has had the worst results since 2002 during the recent elections, which took place in February.
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