[ad_1]
Thousands of people rallied in dozens of cities and towns across Slovakia to mark the sixth anniversary of the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiance during a wave of anti-government protests.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Thousands of people rallied in dozens of cities and towns across Slovakia on Wednesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiance during a wave of anti-government protests. Ta.
On February 21, 2018, Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova, both 27 years old, were shot dead in their home in Velka Maka, a town in eastern Bratislava.
Three people, including ex-soldier Miroslav Marcek, who pleaded guilty to the shooting, received stiff prison terms for their roles in the killing.
Marian Kochner, a businessman accused of masterminding the murders, has been acquitted twice. Prosecutors said they believe Mr. Kochner paid Mr. Marcek to carry out the attack.
The journalist’s father, Joseph Kusiak, thanked the people of the capital “for helping us in the fight for justice for our children.”
The killing sparked mass street protests not seen in Czechoslovakia since the anti-communist Velvet Revolution of 1989. The ensuing political crisis led to the collapse of the coalition government then led by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Fico returned to power last year when his pro-Russian, anti-American leftist party Sumer (Direction) won the September 30 parliamentary election.
Fico, who is known for his abuse of journalists, said he would not communicate with a major television network, two national newspapers and the online news site Kusia, saying they were working for his enemies.
“[Fico]is once again targeting journalists and threatening press freedom,” Pavol Šarai of the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders told a crowd in Bratislava.
“Even though it has been six years, we can still hear threats against journalists,” President Zuzana Caputova said after lighting a candle at a memorial to the pair in downtown Bratislava early Wednesday.
A public statement signed by the editors-in-chief of many of Slovakia’s main newspapers and other media organizations said: “We will never be silent.”
Thousands of people have repeatedly taken to the streets across Slovakia in recent days to protest Fico’s plans to reform the criminal code and abolish the position of special prosecutor, which deals with serious crimes and corruption.
Changes already approved by parliament include reduced penalties for corruption and some other crimes, including the possibility of suspended sentences, and significantly shortened statutes of limitations for crimes such as rape and murder.
A number of people associated with the prime minister’s party, including members of parliament, have been charged in corruption cases.
The bill faced severe criticism at home and abroad, and Mr. Captois challenged it in the Constitutional Court.
[ad_2]
Source link
