A man convicted in a murder case of a Slovak investigative journalist and his fiancee had his prison sentence increased on Wednesday from 23 to 25 years, according to the Supreme Court's ruling
PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2020) A man convicted in a murder case of a Slovak investigative journalist and his fiancee had his prison sentence increased on Wednesday from 23 to 25 years, according to the Supreme Court's ruling.
The shooting of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova in 2018 triggered a huge political scandal that toppled Robert Fico's government, but businessman Marian Kocner suspected of ordering the killing was found not guilty in September.
A spokeswoman for the top Slovak court said that, after considering the "circumstances of the crime, the way it was committed and the personality of the accused," it had extended by two years the sentence handed in April to former soldier Miroslav Marcek, who admitted to carrying out the murders.
Kuciak and his finance, both 27, are believed to have been targeted over an investigation into alleged government corruption. They were shot dead in their home in Velka Maca in western Slovakia. The brutal murder promoted massive anti-government protests and drew scrutiny from the European Union.
