Marcek Refuses to Testify in Kuciak Case and Planned Murders of Prosecutors

       Pezinok, 8 April (TASR) - Miroslav Marcek, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for murdering investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova, refused to testify during Wednesday's main hearing held at the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Pezinok (Bratislava region) in the case of those accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and planning the murders of prosecutors.
        Marcek exercised his right to withhold testimony on the grounds that it could further incriminate him. The court ordered him to appear at the trial despite having receiving a letter from Marcek in which he informed the senate that he wouldn't testify and requested that his summons should be cancelled. Marcek was remanded in custody in September 2018 and is currently serving his sentence in Ilava prison (Trencin region).
        He also refused to testify at the main hearing in May of 2022 because he was among those charged with the planned murders of prosecutors. In November of 2025, the criminal prosecution against Marcek as a cooperating defendant was suspended on the basis of a prosecutor's resolution.
        At the start of Wednesday's hearing, Marek Para, a lawyer for defendant Marian K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], submitted a Constitutional Court resolution dated 24 March that rejected a complaint filed by the defence against a Supreme Court decision that declined to disqualify judge Jan Buvala for potential bias. The Constitutional Court pointed to the principle of subsidiarity, stating that this issue could be addressed in potential appeal proceedings.
        The senate also addressed Marian K.'s request to remove communications between him and his lawyers from the case files. However, senate chair Miroslav Mazuch stated that the court found the request to be unfounded at this stage of the proceedings, noting that the defendant failed to specify communications with his legal counsels.
        Marian K. and Alena Zs. are facing charges of ordering the murder in February 2018 of investigative journalist Kuciak, whose fiancée Martina Kusnirova was also killed. Two previous verdicts were overturned by the Supreme Court, and the case is now before STS for the third time. The men who carried out the murders, Miroslav Marcek and Tomas Szabo, were previously each sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Zoltan Andrusko received a 15-year prison sentence.
Concerning the case of preparing the murders of the prosecutors, Dusan K. and Darko D. are also facing charges. According to the indictment, the order for the murders of incumbent Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka and prosecutor Daniel Lipsic came in the autumn of 2017. In the case of prosecutor Peter Sufliarsky, the order allegedly came in 2018. No murders were carried out, however.