Despite one more guilty verdict, culpability for Kuciak murders still unresolved

Kočner is acquitted, again. What happens now?

The parents of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak arrive to court in anticipation of the verdict.  The parents of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak arrive to court in anticipation of the verdict. (Source: TASR)

Welcome to your weekly commentary and overview of news from Slovakia. The man accused of ordering the murder of Ján Kuciak was acquitted again. Slovakia has a new government, with Ľudovít Ódor’s cabinet expected to govern for the next six months.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

If you have a suggestion on how to make this overview better, let me know at michaela.terenzani@spectator.sk. Thank you for being our reader.

One guilty verdict and one acquittal, for now

When Judge Ružena Sabová read her senate’s verdict acquitting Marian Kočner on charges of having ordered the murder of Ján Kuciak (and planning to murder several senior prosecutors), the newsroom, where I was listening with my colleagues to a live audio feed from the court, fell completely silent. More than five years have elapsed since Kuciak was murdered along with his fiancée Martina Kušnírová; four have passed since Kočner was first charged in the case; and two-and-a-half years have gone by since he was acquitted for the first time.

SkryťTurn off ads

“Will we even live to see it?,” Jozef Kuciak, the father of the murdered journalist, asked reporters in front of the court after the acquittal. He was unable to evince much hope that justice would ever be served in his son’s case. The families of the murdered couple nonetheless say they will appeal against this latest verdict.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad