Alleged mastermind of Slovak journalist's murder begins fresh retrial

The alleged mastermind of a Slovak investigative journalist's murder went on another retrial on Monday, eight years after the crime triggered upheaval in the central European country.

Jan Kuciak -- a journalist investigating high-level corruption linked to influential businessmen and top politicians -- was shot dead with his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, both 27.

Their deaths sparked the largest protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism, leading to the resignation of the government of Robert Fico, although the nationalist prime minister returned to power in 2023.

Accused of ordering the killing, businessman Marian Kocner -- who Kuciak investigated -- has twice been acquitted but Slovakia's Supreme Court has annulled both decisions.

When the latest retrial started at a special criminal court in the city of Pezinok near the capital, Bratislava, masked special force officers led Kocner, wearing a black surgical mask, into the packed court in handcuffs.

Both victims' parents are attending the trial.

"It's difficult, but we said we would persevere... It will end, but I hope it will end in a fair manner. We have no choice but to believe, because it is impossible to live in despair," Kuciak's father, Jozef Kuciak, told reporters.

He said he had a "bad feeling" about Kocner's lawyer, Marek Para, who is also an advisor to Fico.

For now, 43 hearing dates are scheduled stretching until December.

Kocner, 62, has denied ordering the killing of Kucniak in the village of Velka Maca in February 2018.

"I am not a saint but I am not a murderer either," Kocner said in 2020 in a statement in court.

Kocner's lawyer told the court that the indictment was "unfounded".

He is being re-tried together with alleged accomplice Alena Zsuzsova, 51.

Three other people have been sentenced over the crime. They include two hitmen who are serving 25 years in prison.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the trial was "a new opportunity to resolve a crime that undermined press freedom in Slovakia and in Europe".

Both Kocner and Zsuzsova were originally acquitted in 2020 but the Supreme Court reversed their acquittals after finding "several mistakes" in the previous trial.

Kocner was acquitted once again in 2023, while the court found Zsuzsova guilty, sentencing her to 25 years in prison.

But in 2025, the Supreme Court annulled those verdicts on grounds that included "failure to examine all the necessary evidence" and ordered a new panel of judges to hear the case.

Slovak courts rarely take such steps but lawyer Peter Kubina, who represents Kuciak, said it was not surprising "given the scale of the case and the reasons the Supreme Court declared".

Both Kocner and Zsuzsova are currently serving hefty prison sentences for other crimes.

Kocner was sentenced to 19 years in prison for forgery in 2020, while Zsuzsova received a 21-year sentence for her involvement in the murder of a mayor.

Kuciak had written several stories on graft and shady dealings involving Kocner, who had ties to senior politicians in the country of 5.4 million people.

In the last article Kuciak worked on, which was published after his death, he had alleged links between the Italian mafia and the government led by Fico.

In a separate case, investigators launched criminal proceedings last year into the disappearance of investigative journalist Pavol Rypal, who has been missing since 2008.

They suspect the "particularly serious crime of premeditated murder", deputy regional prosecutor in Nitra city, Jaroslav Macek, told AFP.

© Agence France-Presse