Toth: Marian K. Told Me That Dead Journalist Would Serve as Example

Pezinok, January 15 (TASR) - Marian K. often told me in the past that it would be a good idea to murder a journalist in order to intimidate the other members of the press and media into silence, former Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) member Peter Toth claimed in his testimony during the trial of those accused of the murder of Jan Kuciak at the Specialised Criminal Court on Wednesday. Toth was recalling a holiday that his family spent with that of Marian K. on the latter's yacht in Croatia in the summer of 2017. "We were taking a stroll along the harbour. Marian K. told me what Slovak journalists are like; how they manipulate public opinion and misuse the law, adding that even some politicians are like that. I agreed with him," said Toth. "It was then that Marian K. stated in front of me - not for the first time, nor the last - that all it would take would be to eliminate physically, to murder, liquidate one journalist in order to silence the rest." Toth allegedly replied that "there would be no peace" afterwards, as such a murdered journalist would be instantly turned into a martyr. "To this, Kocner replied that in such a case one more would die, and that would be all that would be needed to shut them up. Add to that one more politician and everybody would become afraid," recalled Toth. Toth didn't think that Marian K. was serious about the murder plan at the time, but in hindsight he believes that Marian K. was testing his reactions to see if he could "count on him", eventually dismissing him as not reliable enough to be a potential accomplice in the murder. Marian K. was convinced that in uncovering his financial fraud Jan Kuciak must have been serving someone else's interests in a purpose-built fashion. "He repeatedly lambasted Jan Kuciak for putting such special focus on him when so many other fraudsters are thriving in Slovakia," said Toth. Toth claimed that Marian K. planned to enter politics with the help of Special Prosecutor Dusan Kovacik and Nitra-based entrepreneur Norbert Bodor, who enjoyed ties with senior police officers. In the past Marian K. allegedly offered Toth money to buy a flat with the explanation: "I like you. You don't use me as an ATM machine." mf/df