Slovakia / Europe & Central Asia

Last month brought mixed news in the quest for justice for 27-year-old Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, who was murdered with his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in their home outside Bratislava on February 21, 2018. The alleged mastermind, businessman Marián Kočner, is behind bars for forgery; on January 12 an appeals court upheld a lower court ruling sentencing Kočner to…

CPJ’s 2020 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free By Elana Beiser/CPJ Editorial Director Published October 28, 2020 Incremental progress toward reducing the murders of journalists worldwide is fragile and could be thwarted by legal appeals and lack of political leadership, CPJ found in its latest report on…

Brussels, September 3, 2010—In response to the acquittal of businessman Marián Kočner in the trial for murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, the Committee to Project Journalists issued the following statement: “We are surprised and disappointed that the long investigation into Ján Kuciak’s murder has ended with the acquittal of…

Berlin, June 26, 2020 — Slovak authorities should conduct a quick and thorough investigation into threats to journalist Peter Sabo and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, Sabo, a reporter for online news site Aktuality.sk, found a pistol cartridge in his mailbox in Bratislava, according to a report from his…

Berlin, February 10, 2020 — Slovak authorities should immediately drop criminal defamation and slander charges against journalist Michal Havran and stop using the country’s criminal code to prosecute journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

As wars subsided and a record low number of journalists were murdered in reprisal for reporting, the total number of journalists killed because of their work fell sharply in 2019. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

CPJ and a coalition of eight other international press freedom groups today called on the newly elected president of Slovakia to respect press freedom and ensure the safety of journalists.

Berlin, March 25, 2019 — Slovak lawmakers should not pass an amendment to the country’s press law that would expand its right of reply mandate to include politicians and public officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Black-and-white portraits of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová, set amid unlit red candles, were the first things to greet me when I entered the building housing Aktuality, the news website where Kuciak, an investigative reporter, worked until his murder on February 21, 2018. One flight up is the newsroom where Kuciak’s colleagues continue his work.

Bratislava, February 19, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute (IPI) called on Slovak authorities to expedite charges against all parties allegedly involved in the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. A delegation from the two groups today met with Ministry of Interior officials and representatives of the special prosecutor’s office tasked…