A Slovakian court has once again acquitted millionaire Kocner of having ordered the murder of journalist Kuciak and his fiancé. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
Millionaire Marian Kocner has been acquitted more than five years after the double murder of Slovakian investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancé. A special court near Bratislava concluded that the businessman could not be proven to have ordered the journalist’s murder. In contrast, the co-defendant Alena Z. was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The public prosecutor had accused Kocner as the actual mastermind and Z. only as an accomplice. However, the special court for organized crime in Pezinok, east of the capital Bratislava, found the evidence against Kocner to be insufficient. On the other hand, it was considered proven that Z. organized the double murder and also planned further murders.
Judgment can be appealed
The prosecution and defense can still appeal the verdicts. Prosecutors had asked for life imprisonment for both defendants. The parents of the dead left the courtroom before the verdict was read. He doesn’t understand the decision, said the father Jozef Kuciak.
The mother of the murdered fiancée Martina Kusnirova announced an appeal and spoke of a disgrace to the judiciary. The International Press Institute, an international media freedom organization based in Vienna, called the acquittal shocking. The institute said on Twitter that the verdict was another devastating blow in the fight for justice for the two victims. “The fight for justice will continue.”
Murder triggered national crisis
Kuciak and his fiancée were shot dead on February 21, 2018 at their home east of Bratislava. After that, street protests broke out and the government fell apart. Kocner is said to have threatened Kuciak after he published reports about his dealings. Kocner was accused of masterminding the crime, but was acquitted in September 2020 for lack of evidence. The public prosecutor’s office then appealed.
Kocner in prison for other crimes
The Supreme Court reversed the acquittal in June 2021 and ordered a new trial. Three other defendants have already been sentenced to long prison terms, including the man who shot the victims. Meanwhile, Kocner was sentenced to 19 years in prison in another case of forgery. The judgment is final.