Supreme Court Raises Marcek's Sentence for Kuciak Murder to 25 Years

Supreme Court Raises Marcek's Sentence for Kuciak Murder to 25 Years

Bratislava, December 2 (TASR) – Miroslav Marcek was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum security prison on Wednesday for the murders of journalist Jan Kuciak, his fiancée Martina Kusnirova and businessman Peter Molnar.

The Supreme Court senate’s decision overruled the Specialised Criminal Court’s (STS) more lenient sentence of 23 years. It also turned down an appeal by the aggrieved parents of the victims regarding the amount of non-pecuniary damages.

“The court took into consideration circumstances under which the crimes were committed, the manner in which they were committed and an assessment of the defendant’s character,” said senate chair Alena Siskova, who stated that Marcek murdered the three victims in a cold-blooded manner, without striving to prevent accidental killings.

Marcek didn’t hear the verdict, as he gave consent to the proceedings being held in his absence. The parents of the murdered journalist and his fiancée didn’t come to the Supreme Court’s public session, either.

STS on April 6 sentenced Marcek to 23 years for the double murder of Kuciak and Kusnirova two years ago and the earlier murder of Molnar in 2016. The court took into account the fact that he pleaded guilty, cooperated with the police after his arrest and expressed regret for the murders. However, a prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office appealed against the verdict, claiming that conditions for an extraordinary reduction of the penalty hadn’t been met.

STS also ordered the payment of non-pecuniary damages to the aggrieved parties, in particular €140,000 to the Kuciak family, €70,000 to Zlatica Kusnirova and €40,000 to relatives of Molnar.