Ján Kuciak was a Slovak investigative journalist. He worked as a reporter focused mainly on investigating tax fraud of several businessmen with connections to top-level Slovak politicians. 

He and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, were shot dead in February 2018 in their home.

The murders caused shock and disbelief throughout Slovakia, sparking mass popular protests and a political crisis, with the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico on one side, and opposition parties on the other. The crisis culminated on 15 March of that year with the resignation of Prime Minister Fico and his entire cabinet, followed by the forming of a new cabinet.

Following the biggest murder investigation in the history of independent Slovakia, four people involved in the brutal killing of Jan Kuciak and his fiancée were arraigned and sentenced to long jail terms, and although the alleged mastermind Marian Kocner was acquitted, an appeals court, in June of 2021,  ordered his retrial.

That had been the first shout into the darkness for justice, a crucial step toward ending impunity in Kuciak’s killing and ensuring that all journalists can work safely and freely. The delay in the verdicts on three of the central players allegedly involved in the murder of the young journalist Jan Kuciak was disappointing, but the sordid affair had already proved a major turning point for Slovak society.

The horrific assassination of the 27-year-old journalist, targeted for his investigative work, shook Slovakia’s media, society and politics to their core, with its ramifications continuing to be felt today. The killings of Kuciak and Kusnirova had confirmed many people’s worst fears about the existence in Slovakia of a web of organised crime, oligarch power and political mafia that had enmeshed every corner of the country.

At the time in Slovakia, all the mud was coming to the surface and institutions found themselves in a state comparable to a state when addicts go through a withdrawal phase: they felt very uncomfortable, but they had to face it head-on.

A group of students and the couple’s friends founded an initiative, For a Decent Slovakia, and in the weeks after the murder, demonstrations calling for a proper investigation and for the resignation of top government and police officials broke out across the country.

This case meant emancipation of civil society in Slovakia. For a Decent Slovakia was a movement of young people brought together by the murder. People woke up from a sort of lethargy that had been caused by the oligarchization of society. A battle of right vs. wrong. On the one side, it was a case of a limitless desire for power and money, a case of cynicism and villainy, and of cowardice over facing responsibility for illegal actions, and on the other side, a case of a fight for justice considering Kuciak’s struggle to search for the truth. Most of all, however, it was a case of the sacrifice of two innocent young people longing for a life in a fairer country.

Investigative articles written by Kuciak for Aktuality.sk had risked exposing Kocner’s alleged fraudulent business deals and corrupt connections to the courts and police, posing a threat to his carefully curated impunity. During the trial, it transpired that Kuciak’s investigations could have endangered a number of multi-million euros in deals for Kocner.

Fast forward to Malta today. The report of the inquiry into  Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination is now published. There will surely follow more than one detailed analysis, discussions, debates and recommendations though already initiated. A number of parallels can be drawn from what happened in Slovakia and what is happening on our shores. Some of the positive consequences and changes that took place in Slovakia are taking place in Malta, while others have not to date, with no commitment that they will.

Perhaps without the public pressure that led to the removal of a number of high ranking officials and Ministers, getting things moving in the Caruana Galizia case would have been much less likely. That turning point was extremely important because people were demanding justice and political responsibility, and for people who care about the rule of law, this case is confirmation that they, too, can contribute to it.

I am sensing a political change in the air. Even though it looked as though the political elites had just switched places after the resignation of then-PM Muscat, 2020 will always be remembered in Maltese history as a turning point. The Daphne assassination started a movement that led to significant political change. Without the strong societal initiative, there would have been no change and the investigation would probably not have been made such a priority.

Despite widespread criticism of some of Robert Abela’s moves or communication, the new administration has to some degree brought concrete change to Malta. It was meant to be a government of change. Maybe the change is different to what some people had anticipated, but it is still there and I expect the current Cabinet to continue carrying out important reforms to the police and the justice and prosecution systems. It may be somewhat argued that the change Abela is bringing will not, ultimately, be a positive one, although his determination to fight corruption is still credible.

I think that it was the beginning of a kind of “detox” for Maltese society and politics. Maltese society has suddenly looked in the mirror and seen a very unpleasant reflection, but we must be true to ourselves if we want to move forward.

The consequences of violence against a journalist, both in the private and the professional lives of fellow reporters, can be deep and pervasive.

Although investigative journalists showed remarkable resilience and courage in the aftermath of the murder of their colleague, their stories about how difficult it was (and still is) to cope with such an extreme event — including the stress, trauma, and fear they experienced — serve as a strong reminder for the need to effectively protect journalists.

 

Dr Mark Said is an advocate