Reporters Without Borders Calls on Court Not to Repeat Errors in Kuciak Re-trial

Prague, 23 January (TASR) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday called on the Slovak Specialised Criminal Court (STS) to thoroughly examine all evidence in the file concerning the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova during the upcoming retrial in order to avoid any repeat of the mistakes made in previous proceedings, RSF's Prague office director Pavol Szalai has informed TASR. The trial concerning the alleged masterminds behind the murders of Kuciak and his fiancée at their house in Velka Maca (Trnava region) in February 2018 will resume for the third time at the STS court in Pezinok (Bratislava region) on 26 January. Three verdicts regarding the case are already final. The men who carried out the murders, Miroslav Marcek and Tomas Szabo, were previously each sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Zoltan Andrusko received a 15-year prison sentence. "Reporters Without Borders is urging the court to learn from the mistakes of previous trials and to thoroughly examine all evidence in the case file in accordance with the verdict of the court of appeal," reads RFS's statement. In May 2023, the Supreme Court acquitted Marian K. (name abbreviated due to legal reasons) of charges in the case of ordering Kuciak's murder and in the case of preparing the murders of prosecutors. The court found Alena Zs. guilty and sentenced her to a total of 25 years of imprisonment. In the case of the planned murders of incumbent Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka and prosecutor Peter Sufliarsky, the court also found Dusan K. guilty. Defendant Darko D. was acquitted. The defendants were also acquitted of charges relating to the planned murder of prosecutor Daniel Lipsic. In May 2025, the Supreme Court overturned STS's verdict in the case of Kuciak's murder against defendants Marian K. et al. The case was returned to STS due to errors in the contested verdict. At the same time, another STS panel is set to decide on the case. Reporters Without Borders also expressed solidarity with the families of Kuciak and Kusnirova, who, said Szalai, "have been waiting for justice for almost eight years now". The organisation called on STS to decide on the case independently, in accordance with the law and the verdict of the court of appeal. "The eyes of Europe are on Slovakia," added Szalai. ko/df