In 2018 the murder of local journalist Jan Kuciak, who had been investigating the Italian mafia's activities in Slovakia and its links to senior Slovak officials, sparked a crisis in the country, with almost 20 cities hosting rallies against graft and insufficient measures to deal with corruption.
A former soldier has admitted to killing a Slovak journalist and his fiancée in a crime that had sparked mass protests across the country leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico, reported Reuters.
As the presiding judge of the special criminal court in Pezinok asked the four defendants in the case to make statements on charges presented by the prosecutor, Miroslav Marcek said he accepted his guilt.
The admission could possibly see his sentence reduced from potential life imprisonment.
Marcek was charged with shooting Jan Kuciak, 27, an investigative reporter, and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, in their house near Bratislava in February 2018.
Two other defendants including Marian Kocner, a businessman who had been a subject of Kuciak's reporting, claimed they were innocent of charges of ordering the killing.
A defendant who police believe helped Marcek to carry out the killing did not make a statement at the hearing.
Last year Slovak public television reported police sources as saying Marcek had admitted his guilt during questioning.
A fifth suspect, Zoltan Andrusko, confessed in December to facilitating the murder and received a 15-year prison…