Al Jazeera News :
A panel of judges in Slovakia has acquitted a businessman accused of masterminding the 2018 murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova.
Judge Ruzena Sabova at the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok said on Thursday there was not enough evidence for the convictions of the businessman, Marian Kocner, and one co-defendant.
A third defendant was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors can appeal the verdicts.
“The only thing I can say is I’m disgusted,” the journalist’s father, Jozef Kuciak, told reporters.
Kuciak was shot in the chest and Kusnirova was shot in the head at their home in the town of Velka Maca, east of Bratislava, on February 21, 2018.
During Kocner’s trial, prosecutors told the court that the businessman had allegedly threatened the journalist following publication of a story about his business dealings.
A panel of judges in Slovakia has acquitted a businessman accused of masterminding the 2018 murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova.
Judge Ruzena Sabova at the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok said on Thursday there was not enough evidence for the convictions of the businessman, Marian Kocner, and one co-defendant.
A third defendant was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors can appeal the verdicts.
“The only thing I can say is I’m disgusted,” the journalist’s father, Jozef Kuciak, told reporters.
Kuciak was shot in the chest and Kusnirova was shot in the head at their home in the town of Velka Maca, east of Bratislava, on February 21, 2018.
During Kocner’s trial, prosecutors told the court that the businessman had allegedly threatened the journalist following publication of a story about his business dealings.
