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Since the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee in February 2018, the Slovak police have been investigating corrupt networks in the judiciary. The millionaire Marian Kocner, accused of having commissioned the murder of journalists, is said to have systematically bribed and blackmailed judges and prosecutors in order to buy acquittals in his many fraud scandals. Corruption apparently existed in the Slovak judiciary independently of Kocner. The journalist’s murder and the subsequent investigation also exposed other cases of corruption in the judiciary.
A special unit of the Slovak police arrested three prominent judges and two alleged accomplices on suspicion of corruption in the Jan Kuciak case. Police announced on their Facebook page on Monday that criminal proceedings had been initiated against six other people. According to media reports, those arrested include the head of the Zilina regional court, the head of a district court, and a judge who has now retired.
More than a dozen judges arrested
In March, 13 judges were arrested, including the former Secretary of State for Justice, Monika Jankovska. It is said that she manipulated the court proceedings on behalf of Kocner. On September 3, Kocner was shockingly acquitted of the charge of ordering the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak. Kuciak had reported on Kocner’s dubious dealings, but also on other corruption cases. Following the assassination, mass demonstrations led to the resignation of the then government.
Kocner’s acquittal for lack of evidence outraged the international public. But it is not yet final because the prosecutor has appealed. (SDA)
