Slovakia on Tuesday commemorated the fifth anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, his fianceé and archaeologist Martina Kušnírová, which triggered some of the largest protests in the country’s history, as media stakeholders call for more government protection.
Kuciak and Kušnírová were shot and killed in their home in 2018. At the time, Kuciak was investigating businessman Marian Kočner and had received numerous threats regarding his reporting on his shady business dealings.
In the last story he published before his murder, he wrote about Kočner’s role in a VAT fraud scheme in which he allegedly sold apartments to himself for nominal fees.
Kuciak also reported on Kočner’s links to organised crime and friends in politics, the police and the judiciary. Some 13 judges were arrested, alleged to have accepted bribes from Kočner.
Following the murder, Robert Fico’s (Smer-SD) government collapsed amid public pressure and accusations of inaction and links to organised crime. Kuciak was also investigating high-level government corruption at the time of his death, including matters involving Fico.
The verdict in the ongoing retrial of the alleged mastermind Kočner and his accomplice Alena Zsuzsova is set to be announced on April 24, according to the prosecutor Matus Harkabus. The retrial at the Special Criminal Court started after the Supreme Court had quashed in June 2021 the acquittal of Kočner and Zsuzsova in the first trial.
While a final verdict is expected in April, Kočner pleads not guilty.
“I think this is one of the most fundamental crossroads in the development of our society. It was the beginning of a change. Dozens of crimes of a corrupt nature or abuse of powers are being investigated. Such important turning points are written into our collective memory and remain there,” President Zuzana Čaputová said about the high-level corruption that came to light after the killings.
In a video message on social media, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wrote, “five years ago, Europe was outraged at the murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak & his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. Our outrage is matched by our determination for justice, media freedom, and the protection of journalists. We remember them. We honour them. We fight for them”.
European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova visited Slovakia to mark the anniversary of the journalists’ assassination and discuss EU reforms, including European Media Freedom Act and anti-SLAPP Directive.
“Killing the messenger doesn’t mean that you kill the message”, Jourova wrote on social media, adding that she visited Slovakia to pursue Kuciak’s legacy “and all of those who sacrificed their lives to unveil the truth.”
Meanwhile, a delegation of media freedom experts also visited Slovakia this week to take stock of the situation and to meet with politicians, journalists and members of civil society.
“As political parties prepare for early elections scheduled for September 2023, our organisations call for new political consensus and commitments to improve media freedom and the safety of journalists to prevent any future killing of a journalist and allow Jan Kuciak’s colleagues to continue his legacy of public interest reporting,” a statement from the delegation, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.
They drew attention to the fact that despite the ongoing trial, the mastermind has still not been convicted, and authorities have yet to take proper measures to protect journalists and independent media.
“The end of impunity must become a reality, and the new political cycle must be turned by political parties into an opportunity to strengthen press freedom,” they said.
The centre-right EPP EPP group also released a statement, calling out Fico and his party for their verbal attacks on the media.
“Government officials labelled them as foreign traitors and undermined verbal threats from persons mentioned in Kuciak articles. Prime Minister Robert Fico himself labelled them as “dirty anti-Slovak prostitutes,” EPP said in a statement.
The cold-blooded murder has become a symbol of an era that must not be repeated again in the 21st century, in any country of the European Union”, warned Ivan Štefanec MEP, Head of the Slovak Delegation of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.
A new media freedom mechanism has also been launched in the country, backed by RSF. the mechanism will monitor and prevent attacks on journalists and support victims.
A recent survey in Slovakia amongst media workers found that two-thirds had received a threat related to their work in the last 12 months, with over a quarter resorting to self-censorship.
The most common attacks were online verbal attacks at 40%, in-person verbal attacks at 36%, and physical attacks at 4%.
“On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the assassination of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, RSF calls for justice to be done and announces that it provides financial support and expertise for an unprecedented project to protect journalists in Slovakia,” RSF tweeted.
(Alice Taylor | EURACTIV.com, Michal Hudec | EURACTIV.sk)
Source: euractiv.com
