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== Reactions ==
== Reactions ==
[[File:Brno, Nechceme zpět 90. léta, pochod za Jána a Martinu 2018-03-02 (4467).jpg|thumb|A march for Ján and Martina in Brno]]
[[File:Brno, Nechceme zpět 90. léta, pochod za Jána a Martinu 2018-03-02 (4467).jpg|thumb|A march for Ján and Martina in Brno]]
The murders sent shock-waves through Slovakia.<ref name=shock/> The day after the news broke, gatherings were held around the country in tribute. Candles were lit at the [[SNP Square (Bratislava)|Slovak National Uprising Square]] in Bratislava and in front of the editorial office of Aktuality.sk, where Kuciak worked. Similar gatherings were also organised in the Czech cities of [[Prague]] and [[Brno]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Slovaks and Czechs pay tribute to the murdered journalist|url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20769513/slovaks-and-czechs-pay-tribute-to-the-murdered-journalist.html|accessdate=1 March 2018|agency=Spectator.sk}}</ref> President Kiska stated that he was "shocked and horrified that something like this happened in Slovakia”.<ref name=First/> This was echoed by the President of the European Parliament [[Antonio Tajani]] who called on Slovakia to "launch a thorough investigation with international support if needed" adding that "the [[European Parliament]] will not rest until justice is done".<ref name="Jason">{{cite news|last1=Rezaian|first1=Jason|title=Police believe a journalist was killed for reporting on fraud in the heart of Europe|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/26/police-believe-a-journalist-was-killed-for-reporting-on-fraud-in-the-heart-of-europe/?utm_term=.57ebcdc61b0a|accessdate=9 March 2018|agency=[[The Washington Post]]|date=26 February 2018}}</ref> [[Ringier AG|Ringier Axel Springer]], the parent company of Kuciaks employer Aktuality.sk called the murders a "cruel assassination", wowing redouble their journalistic efforts.<ref name=shock/>
The murders sent shock-waves through Slovakia.<ref name=shock/> The day after the news broke, gatherings were held around the country in tribute. Candles were lit at the [[SNP Square (Bratislava)|Slovak National Uprising Square]] in Bratislava and in front of the editorial office of Aktuality.sk, where Kuciak worked. Similar gatherings were also organised in the Czech cities of [[Prague]] and [[Brno]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Slovaks and Czechs pay tribute to the murdered journalist|url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20769513/slovaks-and-czechs-pay-tribute-to-the-murdered-journalist.html|accessdate=1 March 2018|agency=Spectator.sk}}</ref> President Kiska stated that he was "shocked and horrified that something like this happened in Slovakia”.<ref name=First/> This was echoed by the President of the European Parliament [[Antonio Tajani]] who called on Slovakia to "launch a thorough investigation with international support if needed" adding that "the [[European Parliament]] will not rest until justice is done".<ref name="Jason">{{cite news|last1=Rezaian|first1=Jason|title=Police believe a journalist was killed for reporting on fraud in the heart of Europe|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/26/police-believe-a-journalist-was-killed-for-reporting-on-fraud-in-the-heart-of-europe/?utm_term=.57ebcdc61b0a|accessdate=9 March 2018|agency=[[The Washington Post]]|date=26 February 2018}}</ref> [[Ringier AG|Ringier Axel Springer]], the parent company of Kuciaks employer Aktuality.sk called the murders a "cruel assassination", vowing to redouble their journalistic efforts.<ref name=shock/>


=== Protests ===
=== Protests ===

Revision as of 21:37, 14 March 2018

Murder of Ján Kuciak
File:Jan Kuciak.jpg
Murdered journalist Ján Kuciak.
Date22/25 February 2018
DeathsJán Kuciak (27)
Martina Kušnírová (27)
BurialGregorovce (Kušnírová)
Štiavnik (Kuciak)
Suspects'Ndrangheta crime syndicate

Ján Kuciak (17 May 1990 – 22/25 February 2018) was a Slovak investigative journalist who, along with his fiancée Martina Kušnírová of similar age, was found shot dead on 25 February 2018 in their home in Veľká Mača, Galanta District, Slovakia.[1] Kuciak, who worked as a reporter of the news website Aktuality.sk, focused mainly on investigating tax fraud of several businessmen with connections to top-level Slovak politicians.[2]

Kuciak was the first journalist ever to be murdered in Slovakia.[3] The murders, in addition to causing widespread shock and disbelief throughout the country, plunged the country into a deep political crisis.[4] The government of Prime Minister Robert Fico on one side, was pitted against President Andrej Kiska and the political opposition on the other.[5]

Background

Jan Kuciak was born on 17 May 1990 in the village of Štiavnik in Bytča district. He studied and graduated with a masters degree in journalism at the University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra, where he continued his studies as a post-graduate student in the field of mass media communication. While working on his PhD, he also held a teaching position at the same faculty.[6]

He later started to work for the newspaper Hospodárske noviny, before landing a job in the editorial office of Aktuality.sk, where he primarily dealt with investigative journalism. He focused in particular on organized tax evasion, some of which were related to the ruling Direction - Social Democracy party headed by Prime Minister Robert Fico. In the past, he also wrote about "shady" companies with unclear ownership as well as suspected systemic embezzlement from European Union funds.[7]

In the last article published before his death (February 9, 2018), he wrote about businessman Marián Kočner, who first became known in Slovakia in 1998 in connection with his unsuccessful attempt to take over private television news network TV Markíza with the help of the State Intelligence Agency SIS. Kuciak had previously detailed in his articles how Kočner was involved in an elaborate VAT tax fraud scheme. According to Kuciak's investigation, Kočner was buying and selling luxury apartments to himself, sometimes at the symbolic rate of €1, defrauding the state of substantial tax revenue. Kočner then allegedly began to threaten Kuciak and his family. Kuciak therefore filed a criminal complaint against Kočner in September 2017, however according to Kuciak, no police officer was assigned to the case 44 days after the complaint was made.[1][8]

Assassination

At the time of his death, Kuciak was 27 years old. He lived in the village of Veľká Mača, about 65 km (40 miles) east of the capital Bratislava. On the morning of 26 February, police were called to his home by family members after calls to the couple had not been answered for more than four days.[9] Inside the house, the police found Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová shot dead. Kuciak had been shot in the chest, while Kušnírová had been shot once in the head. The murders had occurred sometime between February 22 and 25.[1]

Reactions

A march for Ján and Martina in Brno

The murders sent shock-waves through Slovakia.[9] The day after the news broke, gatherings were held around the country in tribute. Candles were lit at the Slovak National Uprising Square in Bratislava and in front of the editorial office of Aktuality.sk, where Kuciak worked. Similar gatherings were also organised in the Czech cities of Prague and Brno.[10] President Kiska stated that he was "shocked and horrified that something like this happened in Slovakia”.[1] This was echoed by the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani who called on Slovakia to "launch a thorough investigation with international support if needed" adding that "the European Parliament will not rest until justice is done".[11] Ringier Axel Springer, the parent company of Kuciaks employer Aktuality.sk called the murders a "cruel assassination", vowing to redouble their journalistic efforts.[9]

Protests

On Friday 2 March, up to 25,000 people protested in Bratislava against the attacks.[12] One week later on 9 March, nationwide protests were held in 48 towns and cities in Slovakia as well as 17 cities around the world. In Bratislava alone about 60,000 people held a protest march in the biggest turnout in any demonstration since the Velvet Revolution in 1989.[13] The protests was endorsed by several universities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, teachers, school associations, artists and non-governmental organisations. 21 universities cancelled afternoon lectures to allow students and employees to attend the protests.[14]

Investigation

In a press conference the same morning, Slovak Police President Tibor Gašpar stated that the murders "likely have something to do with [Kuciak’s] investigative activities".[15][16][17] The Government of Slovakia offered €1 million for information leading to the murderers. Prime Minister Robert Fico made the announcement during a press conference together with Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and Police President Tibor Gašpar.[18] During the press conference, which has been described as "surreal"[2] and "bizarre",[7] they displayed packs of banknotes, amounting to one million euros, which the government promised to give to anyone who came forward with relevant information that could help clarify the murder.[19] Furthermore, Prime Minister Fico announced the creation of an inter-agency task force involving employees of the General Prosecutor’s Office, Special Prosecutor’s Office, the Interior Ministry and the Slovak Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency in attempting to solve the case.[1]

At the time of his murder, Kuciak was working on a report about Slovak connections of the Italian organized crime syndicate called 'Ndrangheta.[20] He had previously written about organized tax fraud involving businesspeople close to the ruling Smer-SD party.[21] On 28 February, Aktuality.sk published Kuciak's last, unfinished story.[22] The article deals with activities of Italian businessmen with ties to organized crime who have settled in eastern Slovakia, and have spent years embezzling European Union funds intended for the development of this relatively poor region, as well as their connections to high-ranking state officials, such as Viliam Jasaň, a deputy and the Secretary of the State Security Council of Slovakia, or Mária Trošková, a former nude model who became "chief state adviser" of Prime Minister Robert Fico. Both Jasaň and Trošková took leave of absence on the same day, stating that they would return to their positions once the investigations are concluded.[23]

Initial arrests

On 1 March, four days after the murders, heavily armed units from the Slovak Police Corps' elite National Crime Agency (NAKA) raided several locations in eastern Slovakia, namely in the cities of Michalovce and Trebišov.[24] Antonino Vadalà, an Italian entrepreneur mentioned in Kuciak's report, was detained along with his two brothers Sebastiano and Bruno in addition to his cousin Pietro Caprotta and several other men of Italian origin.[25] All the detained men were subsequently released from custody after 48 hours, due to lack of sufficient evidence.[26] On the same day as the arrests were made, General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár ordered the police to give no further updates to the press or the public regarding the investigation.[27] Vadala was later rearrested on 13 March, this time due to an international warrant issued by the Italian police.[28]

Political crisis

The same day the murder was announced, Prime minister Fico called on the political opposition not to "exploit" the situation.[1] Meanwhile, a number of opposition politicians accused the ruling Smer-SD party of indirect involvement. Member of parliament Veronika Remisova from the opposition OL'aNO party compared the killings to the infamous murder of Róbert Remiáš, a police officer who was assassinated in 1996, a killing who is widely believed to have been a contract killing by the Slovak mafia on the orders of then-prime minister Vladimir Meciar.[29] On 27 February, Freedom and Solidarity, together with OL'aNO demanded the resignation of both Interior minister Robert Kalinak and Police President Tibor Gaspar.[30]

The crisis escalated on 4 March when President Andrej Kiska made a live broadcast on state television. In is speech, he warned the government against further polarising the country. He then pressed for either a "radical cabinet reshuffle" or the calling of a snap election.[31] The presidents speech infuriated the Prime Minister, who accused the former of "joining the opposition".[31] Furthermore he accused the president of conspiring with Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros in planning a coup d'etat, based on the fact that President Kiska met with Soros at the latter's apartment in New York in September 2017, ostensibly to discuss issues pertaining to the Roma minority.[32]

On 28 February, two days after the news of Kuciaks murder broke, The Minister of Culture Marek Maďarič announced his resignation.[33] Announcing his decision to the press, Madaric stated that "as a culture minister, I can’t cope with the fact that a journalist was killed during my tenure."[34][35] Robert Kaliňák, the Minister of the Interior and the Deputy Prime Minister, resigned on 12 March 2018 after facing weeks of mounting pressure.[36] The Most-Hid party, which was the junior coalition partner in the government, had demanded the resignation of Mr Kalinak in exchange for continued support of Smer-SD.[37] The next day, Most-Hid joined the calls for snap elections. The party announced that will leave the government if it fails to make a deal with its two coalition partners, Smer-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS) on the matter. Most-Híd Chairman, Béla Bugár, announced the decision after an eight-hour-long session of the Most-Hid Republican Council, the party's decision-making body.[38]

On 14 March, Prime minister Fico publicly stated that he was ready to tender his resignation as Prime minister in order to avoid early election as well as to "solve the political crisis".[39] His announcement came after a meeting with President Kiska. In that meeting, Fico laid out a number of specific conditions that needed to be met by the president in order for him to resign. Those conditions were amongst others; that the result of the 2016 Slovak parliamentary election be respected, that the current ruling government coalition must continue, and lastly, that Smer-SD as the largest party currently in parliament name the next Prime minister. Fico stated that he already had a candidate in mind, Slovak media widely reported that the next prime minister would be Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini.[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "UPDATED: Investigative journalist killed in his house". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b Cameron, Rob (28 February 2018). "Slovakia grapples with murdered journalist's last story". BBC. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. ^ Nicholson, Tom. "Slovakian journalism's darkest day". Politico.eu.
  4. ^ Madshus, Karin. "Land i sjokk etter drap på ung journalist og hans forlovede. Milliondusør utloves for tips i saken" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  5. ^ Vonsak, Martin. "Minúta po minúte: Prokurátor obviňuje Kaliňáka a Počiatka z legalizačnej schémy". SME.sk. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  6. ^ Čunderlíková, Jana (28 February 2018). "Skromný, pracovitý, čestný. Ján Kuciak očami jeho študentov". Aktuality.sk. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  7. ^ a b Editorial Board (7 March 2018). "A muckraking journalist is murdered in Slovakia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. ^ "UPDATED: Marches for murdered journalist will be on Friday". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Slovakia shocked by killing of journalist and partner". BBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Slovaks and Czechs pay tribute to the murdered journalist". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  11. ^ Rezaian, Jason (26 February 2018). "Police believe a journalist was killed for reporting on fraud in the heart of Europe". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Deloire: Bratislava is the capital of press freedom today". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Zažili sme najväčšie protesty od roku 1989" (in Slovak). Aktuality.sk. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Enough of Fico, thousands of people shouted at gatherings across Slovakia". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  15. ^ Boffey, Daniel. "Slovakian journalist investigating claims of tax fraud linked to ruling party shot dead". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Investigative journalist Jan Kuciak killed in Slovakia". Deutsche Welle. 2018-02-26.
  17. ^ Janicek, Karel. "Slovak investigative reporter, girlfriend found shot dead". The Washington Post.
  18. ^ "Jan Kuciak murder: Slovak PM offers €1m reward in appeal". BBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Fico stands by Trošková". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  20. ^ a.s., Petit Press. "Kuciak investigated links between politicians and mafia".
  21. ^ "Kuciak investigated links between politicians and mafia". Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  22. ^ Kuciak, Ján. "Talianska mafia na Slovensku. Jej chápadlá siahajú aj do politiky". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  23. ^ "Trošková and Jasaň are leaving their posts at Government's Office". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  24. ^ Jabrik, Peter. "Polícia udrela na východe. Pozrite si raziu na Zemplíne". Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  25. ^ "Polícia pri razii na východe Slovenska zadržala podnikateľa z Kuciakovho článku" (in Slovak). Aktuality.sk. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  26. ^ "Police release all seven detained Italians". Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  27. ^ "More concerns about independence of Kuciak murder investigation". Spectator.sk. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Italian entrepreneur Vadala reportedly detained due to drugs". Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  29. ^ "Fico odmieta zneužívanie tragickej vraždy Kuciaka na politický boj". Sme.sk. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  30. ^ "Opozícia spúšťa petíciu za odstúpenie Kaliňáka a policajného šéfa". SME.sk. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  31. ^ a b "UPDATED: Fico won't step down, accuses Kiska of joining opposition". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  32. ^ "Fico steers conversation to Soros, saying he will deal with politics later". Spectator.sk. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  33. ^ "Vražda Kuciaka: Jasaň a Trošková opustí úřad vlády, ministr kultury Maďarič odstoupil" (in Czech). ČT24.
  34. ^ Balogova, Beata. "Maďarič zrušil Fica aj jeho refrén". SME. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  35. ^ "Culture Minister Maďarič resigns". Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  36. ^ Dedinský, Matej. "Minister Kaliňák podáva demisiu" (in Slovak). Aktuality.sk.
  37. ^ "Slovakia journalist murder: Interior minister resigns". BBC News. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  38. ^ "Most-Híd calls for early elections". Spectator.sme.sk. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  39. ^ Terenzani, Michaela. "UPDATED: Fico is ready to resign tomorrow". Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  40. ^ "Minúta po minúte: Fico podá demisiu, novým premiérom môže byť Pellegrini". Sme.sk. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
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