Slovakian Marian Kocner acquitted in murder of journalist trial
Slovak billionaire Marian Kocner was acquitted by the Slovak courts in the trial over the murder of an investigative journalist.
AFP Photo / VLadimir Simicek
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A Slovak businessman prosecuted for the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée in 2018 was acquitted on Thursday, September 3 by the Slovak justice.
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His name appeared in the journalist's investigations into corruption networks involving business circles and politicians.
Marian Kocne was accused of having ordered the double assassination which provoked large demonstrations and helped to redraw the political landscape.
The special court in Pezinok did not follow the demonstration of prosecutors, who had requested a 25-year prison
sentence against Kocner
.
One of his two co-defendants, on the other hand, was convicted of participation in the double murder.
Two other suspects have already been convicted after admitting their guilt.
Emblematic case
Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova, who were 27, were shot dead at their home near Bratislava in February 2018.
The affair fueled suspicions of corruption among the country's elites among the Slovak population, sparking widespread anger that prompted longtime Prime Minister Robert Fico to resign.
A new government that
took office in March has promised to eradicate corruption.
►Also read: Slovakia: two years after the murder of Jan Kuciak, a country in the street
Bringing the murderers of Kuciak and his companion to justice was seen as a test for the Slovak judicial system, which was decried as subject to corruption.
Several high-ranking politicians and justice officials resigned after the investigation revealed their past ties to Kocner.
The Pezinok court said it did not have proof that the latter ordered the assassination.
(With agencies)
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