Marian Kočner (source: SME/Jozef Jakubčo)
In a surprise decision delivered behind closed doors, Slovakia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 20, once again overturned a lower court’s ruling in the high-profile case of journalist Ján Kuciak’s murder, sending it back for retrial and ordering a new panel of judges to take over the proceedings.
The ruling effectively nullifies a 2023 verdict by a panel of the Specialised Criminal Court, which had once again acquitted businessman Marian Kočner of ordering the killing. It also means that, more than seven years after the murder that shocked Slovakia and Europe, the case still lacks a final verdict. The Supreme Court first overturned the lower court’s ruling in 2021.
Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, were shot dead in their home in the village of Veľká Mača in February 2018. The killings triggered mass protests and led to the resignation of the government led by Robert Fico. Prosecutors allege that Kočner, angered by Kuciak’s investigative reporting into his business dealings, ordered the murder through his associate, Alena Zsuzsová.
Kočner has been acquitted twice. Zsuzsová was convicted of commissioning the murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Several of the perpetrators and intermediaries have confessed and been convicted, including the gunman and the getaway driver. Yet Kočner, whom prosecutors accuse of bankrolling the plot, has repeatedly evaded conviction.
A new panel of judges
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the lower court had failed to properly assess key evidence and had disregarded earlier binding instructions from the higher court. In a brief public statement, the court cited “unclear factual findings” and “failure to consider all relevant circumstances”.
The justices also ordered the case to be assigned to a different panel of judges – a move that suggests serious concerns about the impartiality or competence of the original bench. The previous panel, led by Judge Ružena Sabová, had acquitted Kočner despite what one of its own members, Judge Jozef Pikna, described in a dissenting opinion as a “coherent body of evidence” pointing to his guilt.
Judge Pikna argued that Zsuzsová had neither the means nor the motive to order the murder independently. He pointed to encrypted messages between her and Kočner, witness statements, and surveillance evidence as proof of Kočner’s involvement. According to Pikna, Kuciak’s journalism posed an “existential threat” to Kočner’s interests.
The families of the victims welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling. Jozef Kuciak, the journalist’s father, said the decision was the only logical one. “We’ll see what happens next, but it’s clear the court proceedings will continue,” he told Denník N.
“This is good news,” added Roman Kvasnica, the lawyer representing Kušnírová’s mother, as quoted by the daily Sme. Peter Kubina, who represents the Kuciak family, also welcomed the decision: “We believe the new panel will begin hearings as soon as possible.”
Fresh hopes amid lingering doubts
However, the reshuffling of judges is likely to delay proceedings. The new panel will need time to review thousands of pages of case files before the trial can resume. Moreover, the original prosecutors, Matúš Harkabus and Daniel Mikuláš – who built the case – have since left the service after the Special Prosecutor’s Office was dismantled in 2024 by the current Fico-led government. Both have since become lawyers. The case is now being handled by prosecutors Peter Kysel and Vladimír Kuruc.
Harkabus, who co-authored the appeal that led to this week’s ruling, said the Supreme Court’s intervention was warranted. “The original verdict was illogical and could not withstand appellate scrutiny,” he wrote on Facebook.
The outcome remains uncertain. But for many in Slovakia, Tuesday’s ruling has rekindled hopes that justice might yet prevail in a case that has come to symbolise the country’s struggle against corruption and impunity.
As Harkabus put it: “Justice is born with difficulty – but it still has a chance.”
