Protests following the mruder of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová were hedl aorund Slovakia - and also abroad (e.g. in Paris, March 9) (source: AP/TASR)
The protest organisers attended by Slovak nationals from 12 European countries in the wake of the murders of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová sent an open letter to the European Parliament on April 11. In the letter, they asked MEPs to include three specific items in a resolution on Slovakia set to be approved in Strasbourg on April 19, the TASR newswire reported on the same day.
The authors of the letter pointed out that the double murder of Kuciak and his fiancée occurred more than a month ago. The murdered journalist was writing about corruption and sought to uncover connections between Italian Mafia members active in Slovakia and senior political representatives of the country. His murder sparked the largest street protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism in 1989.
What are the requests about?
First, the letter asks the European Parliament (EP) to initiate the establishment of an international investigative team in cooperation with Europol in order to ensure a just and transparent investigation into the murders of Kuciak and Kušnírová. The EP should address such a request to the Slovak prosecutor-general, Police Corps president and Slovak Parliament, since only Slovak lawmakers can greenlight legislation to enable the creation of such a team.
The second request is to look into specific measures taken by the new Slovak government that stem from the conclusions and recommendations of the European Parliament’s two-day investigative mission to Slovakia that followed the murder.
Finally, the signatories of the call are asking the EP to approve an external and independent investigation into the misuse of the European Union’s financial resources in Slovakia.
In the letter the authors warned MEPs that the situation, in which all state administration branches are controlled and abused by “criminals” and in which the journalist who was writing about this was murdered, is indeed critical. They cited the report of the EP special mission, according to which the Slovak public has lost its confidence in law enforcement and state institutions in general.
Save the date
“We’re afraid that no solution is in the offing without external help, the letter reads. “Therefore, we ask you to take all of our concerns into consideration during the vote on April 19.”
The letter has been signed by the Slovak organisers of public protests in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
