The Guardian

‘They can’t kill us all’: Slovakian journalists defiant after murders

Colleagues of Ján Kuciak, killed after investigating mafia links, vow to continue his work
A woman places a candle in front of a portrait of Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kusnirova in the center of Bratislava on February 27, 2018. The body of Jan Kuciak, a 27-year-old reporter for the aktuality.sk news portal owned by Axel Springer and Ringier, was discovered alongside that of Martina Kusnirova at their home in Velka Maca, 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of the Slovak capital Bratislava on February 26, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / VLADIMIR SIMICEK / Getty Images

At 6.30am on Monday, Peter Bárdy, the editor-in-chief of aktuality.sk, a Slovakian news website, received a phone call to inform him that one of his employees had been murdered. Ján Kuciak, a 27-year-old investigative reporter, and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, had been found shot dead at their home in Vel’ká Mača, 40 miles (65km) east of Bratislava.

“It was the worst moment of my career, to tell 27 people from my editorial team …,” Bardy checks himself, “to tell 26 people from my editorial team that one of them, Ján Kuciak, is dead.”

Peter Habara, an editor at , was in the office early that morning too. “It’s impossible to comprehend – my wife and I were making plans to visit Ján and Martina

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Guardian

The Guardian5 min read
Sara M Saleh: ‘I Want To Know The System And Its Flaws, So I Know How To Undo It, Transcend It’
Sara M Saleh is bright against the picture of a rather dreary day. The poet’s blue headwrap and coloured frock are stark beneath grey clouds rolling overhead as are her white sneakers stepping through freshly moistened mud. We meet after a night of i
The Guardian4 min read
‘Perfect Linearity’: Why Botticelli’s Drawing Abilities Remain One-of-a-kind
Throughout the Renaissance, drawings became an integral part of the massive paintings and frescoes that have long been associated with that period. Among other things, they were a way for artists to get a feel for how to arrange the space of a compos
The Guardian7 min read
Gwyneth Paltrow: Is Her Life A Work Of Performance Art?
Ripping to shreds Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop gift list has been a media preoccupation for years now, to the point that the website even titles it, “The ridiculous but awesome gift guide”. Still, even those not driven by well-documented animus towards Pal

Related Books & Audiobooks