Ringier Axel Springer journalist dies in Slovakia after assassination attempt
In Slovakia, an investigative journalist and his fiancée were shot and killed in their home. The Interior Ministry in Bratislava confirmed the double murder on Monday.
The 27-year-old Jan Kuciak had regularly reported on cases of suspected tax fraud on the Internet portal Aktuality.sk. He mainly targeted prominent entrepreneurs who, according to his research, maintained business connections to the ruling Social Democrats as well as to organized crime circles.
One of these entrepreneurs had recently threatened Kuciak publicly because of his disclosure reports. However, the threat did not involve the use of force. The entrepreneur wanted to "collect dirt reports" about Kuciak and his family similar to what the latter had done about him, the entrepreneur had told the media.
Ringier Axel Springer "appalled
The news portal Aktuality.sk belongs to Ringier Axel Springer Slovakia. "We are appalled and stunned by the news that Jan Kuciak and his partner have apparently become victims of a cruel assassination attempt," Ringier wrote in Zurich in a communiqué Monday. Even if the background has not yet been fully clarified, the suspicion is "that the crime is connected to an ongoing investigation by our colleague." If the attack is an attempt to prevent an independent publisher like Ringier Axel Springer Slovakia from exposing wrongdoing, "we will take this as an opportunity to exercise our journalistic mandate even more conscientiously and consistently." (SDA)
