General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár at a press conference, July 16. (source: SITA)
General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár told a press conference on July 16 that initial mistakes have “complicated the start” and slowed down the pace of the investigation of the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. He said he does not know why these mistakes occurred. These are errors that are costly to redress, though, he added – especially in terms of time. The investigation could have been further advanced by now, he opined, as quoted by the Sme daily.
Čižnár also said that the Special Prosecutor’s Office assigned to the case of the murders has been given latitude to inform the public about any potential progress. “I have no reason to consult the file, but the prosecutor has been given completely free rein in this,” the general prosecutor noted, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “He can hold a briefing on anything that can be released,” Čižnár said, adding that the investigation will be independent and smooth.
EP audit ended satisfactory, it seems
As for last week’s visit of the supervising prosecutor at the European Parliament, it has been revealed that the MEPs believe the case will be resolved and that they were satisfied with the answers presented by the supervising prosecutor, the GP said, according to the SITA newswire. And he said that Europol and the FBI also confirmed that the investigation is independent and free of protraction.
Kuciak and Kušnírová were murdered on February 21, 2018 with a 9mm pistol. According to the Special Prosecutor’s Office, the way in which the murders were carried out indicate that they were committed by a hitman.
