{"id":32791,"date":"2019-02-21T22:35:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T22:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=32791"},"modified":"2019-02-21T22:35:34","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T22:35:34","slug":"as-murdered-slovak-remembered-journalists-call-for-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=32791","title":{"rendered":"As murdered Slovak remembered, journalists call for protection"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Last year, on February 21, Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, archaeologist Martina Kusnirova, were murdered in their home in\u00a0Vel’ka Maca, a small village 28 miles east of Bratislava.<\/span><\/p>\n

They were killed by\u00a0a\u00a0professional assassin: Kuciak with\u00a0two\u00a0shots\u00a0to the\u00a0chest, Kusnirova with one to the\u00a0head.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their deaths provoked a public outcry which\u00a0led to\u00a0mass protests\u00a0against\u00a0state\u00a0corruption\u00a0and\u00a0forced the resignation of prime minister Robert Fico.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Exactly one year later, more than 20,000 have taken to Bratislava’s streets again to remember the journalist and his partner, who were both in their late twenties.<\/span><\/p>\n

For several\u00a0weeks,\u00a0<\/em>the murders\u00a0and their\u00a0repercussions dominated international headlines.<\/span><\/p>\n

But\u00a0one\u00a0key\u00a0piece\u00a0of information\u00a0slipped under the radar of\u00a0most\u00a0foreign\u00a0news outlets:\u00a0<\/em>Kuciak’s colleagues at the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)\u00a0<\/em>believed that the\u00a0killers were aided\u00a0by government leaks of Jan’s Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a March 2018, an\u00a0article<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on the OCCRP website titled “Freedom of Information Law: Reporters’ Best Friend or Killer?” the reporters laid out their reasoning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuciak was careful to\u00a0used encrypted\u00a0communications, so they did not think his online accounts been hacked. In his public records requests, Kuciak provided detailed information about his\u00a0research, hoping it would improve his chances of getting a positive response.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bearing in mind the recent physical, online, and legal attacks against journalists, I think we have very good momentum to press the European Commission and European politicians for legislation on access to information.<\/p>\n

Flutura Kusari, legal adviser at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finally,\u00a0in his\u00a0requests\u00a0he\u00a0had provided the address of the house\u00a0he and Kusnirova had recently moved into,\u00a0the one in which they were killed.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0provision of a physical address\u00a0is\u00a0a requirement\u00a0for those making\u00a0enquiries\u00a0under Slovakia’s\u00a0FOI\u00a0law.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuciak was a public records specialist who filed\u00a0dozens\u00a0of FOI requests. His OCCRP colleagues could not track down all of them.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They did, however, seek comment from the Slovakia’s Agricultural Paying Agency, the Trebisov\u00a0public prosecutor’s office,\u00a0the Bratislava\u00a0regional court, and the Slovak energy agency SIAS,\u00a0to which\u00a0they knew Kuciak had sent multiple\u00a0requests shortly before his murder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These agencies\u00a0denied\u00a0to the OCCRP\u00a0that they had ever passed on personal details from FOI requests to\u00a0any\u00a0third parties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When contacted\u00a0for this article,\u00a0they either did not respond or told Al Jazeera to direct enquiries to\u00a0Slovakia’s Special Prosecution’s Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their\u00a0article, the\u00a0OCCRP gathered\u00a0testimonies from other\u00a0European journalists\u00a0who\u00a0said\u00a0they had\u00a0been threatened\u00a0or\u00a0impeded in their research\u00a0as a result of their FOI requests.<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Off the back of the article, the OCCRP – along with the transparency\u00a0organisation Access Info,\u00a0campaigned for\u00a0the introduction of\u00a0“Jan’s Law”, a proposed piece of EU legislation that would grant anonymity to those making FOI requests in\u00a0the EU and\u00a0sanction officials\u00a0found to have leaked\u00a0requests.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost a year on from\u00a0its\u00a0publication, the OCCRP’s Eva Kubaniova told Al Jazeera she no longer believes that Jan and Martina were killed as a result of FOI leaks. In\u00a0October\u00a02018,\u00a0new evidence emerged that Kuciak was being physically surveilled in the period leading up to the murders.<\/span><\/p>\n

OCCRP head Drew Sullivan\u00a0said\u00a0it is now clear\u00a0that\u00a0disclosures\u00a0of\u00a0Kuciak’s\u00a0FOI requests\u00a0were not\u00a0a primary factor in\u00a0the murders, but that it is less certain that\u00a0government leaks played no role whatsoever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether or not they did,\u00a0journalists working in the EU say\u00a0a new FOI\u00a0law\u00a0is needed\u00a0to protect both themselves and their stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kuciak was shot dead in Slovakia while working on a story about the activities of Italian mafia in Slovakia and their alleged links to people close to Prime Minister Robert Fico [File: Bundas Engler\/The Associated Press]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Approximately six months ago, Italian journalists Cecilia Anesi and\u00a0Luca\u00a0Rinaldi\u00a0from the Investigative Reporting Project Italy\u00a0received a\u00a0series\u00a0of\u00a0surprise phone calls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They were conducting research\u00a0for\u00a0an upcoming documentary on an organised criminal trade in toxic waste,\u00a0and were seeking information from several public bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The entrepreneur we had requested information\u00a0on\u00a0thought it was OK to call us on our personal mobile phones and tell us off, saying, ‘Why do you want this information?’,” says Anesi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neus Vidal, a journalist and transparency activist,\u00a0told Al Jazeera\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>after she\u00a0filed\u00a0an FOI request with a Spanish government agency,\u00a0she\u00a0received a call from the\u00a0agency’s communications director pressuring her to drop her enquiries. She later learned the director had searched online for her and persuaded a colleague at a newspaper where Vidal\u00a0had previously\u00a0worked to give him her number.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“As a journalist, I am exposed to [these kinds of] calls, but I could certainly be exposed to something more dangerous if my private details are shared with other people,” she told Al Jazeera.<\/span><\/p>\n

Italy and Spain\u00a0are two of\u00a0several\u00a0EU countries\u00a0which\u00a0require\u00a0individuals\u00a0filing\u00a0an FOI\u00a0request to identify themselves by their government ID numbers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most others require\u00a0applicants to identify themselves by their\u00a0full\u00a0name.<\/span><\/p>\n

Authorities\u00a0who\u00a0enforce these rules\u00a0say\u00a0they need\u00a0to know\u00a0requesters’\u00a0identities\u00a0so they can\u00a0keep track of the\u00a0enquiries, and\u00a0so they can\u00a0filter out\u00a0“vexatious requests”. Officials have also pointed out that someone seeking information would have to identify themselves\u00a0if they wanted to\u00a0fight a case in court.\u00a0But privacy\u00a0campaigners say these issues could be worked around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Access Info’s\u00a0director Helen\u00a0Darbishire\u00a0says\u00a0she believes Jan’s Law would be difficult to pass at the EU level, as transparency laws\u00a0in Europe\u00a0have always\u00a0fallen\u00a0under the\u00a0jurisdiction\u00a0of\u00a0sovereign states.<\/span><\/p>\n

Flutura Kusari, a legal adviser at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF),<\/em>\u00a0is more optimistic, citing the\u00a0recent\u00a0success\u00a0of\u00a0activists\u00a0in drafting\u00a0an\u00a0EU directive on whistleblower protection.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Bearing in mind the recent physical, online, and legal attacks against journalists, I think we have very good momentum to press the European Commission and European politicians for legislation on access to information,”\u00a0Kusari\u00a0told Al Jazeera.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A woman kneels by a memorial on the first anniversary of the murder in Bratislava [David W. Cerny\/Reuters]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

If the Slovak couple’s killers weren’t assisted by FOI leaks,\u00a0what did happen, and how\u00a0can\u00a0more\u00a0killings be prevented?<\/span><\/p>\n

Much is still unclear\u00a0about the circumstances surrounding\u00a0the murders, but what is known is that\u00a0Kuciak\u00a0was being followed and photographed\u00a0before being killed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The person who surveilled Kuciak is believed to be a former agent of the Slovak secret service, who reportedly told police he was working for Marian Kocner, a Slovak entrepreneur whose business dealings Kuciak had reported on extensively. <\/span><\/p>\n

In September 2017, Kuciak filed a criminal complaint against Kocner for threats the businessman had issued against him.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an\u00a0October 20, 2017\u00a0post<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on his\u00a0Facebook\u00a0page,\u00a0Kuciak complained that no police officer\u00a0appeared to have\u00a0been assigned to his case\u00a0in the 44 days since he had filed the report.<\/p>\n

The Bratislava police did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

In late\u00a0September 2018, four people were\u00a0charged with\u00a0Kuciak and Kusnirova’s murders\u00a0or complicity in the\u00a0killings.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A woman accused of\u00a0paying\u00a070,000 euros\u00a0for the assassinations\u00a0has been identified as\u00a0Alena\u00a0Zsuzsova, an Italian-Slovak translator who\u00a0was\u00a0allegedly\u00a0close to\u00a0Kocner.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Peter\u00a0Bardy,\u00a0Kuciak’s editor at the Slovak news site Aktuality.sk<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Kocner\u00a0is being investigated\u00a0for\u00a0the murders\u00a0but has not been charged, although he has been in prison since June 2018 on unrelated charges of financial fraud.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuciak’s colleagues believe other associates of\u00a0Kocner’s, not currently under investigation,\u00a0may also\u00a0have been\u00a0involved\u00a0in the murders.\u00a0The Special Prosecution’s Office\u00a0<\/em>did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kusari, the legal adviser, is concerned that there\u00a0has been\u00a0no\u00a0investigation into state responsibility\u00a0in their killings.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The most urgent thing to do when journalists are killed is to conduct an independent inquiry into whether the state was responsible,”\u00a0Kusari\u00a0told Al Jazeera.<\/span><\/p>\n

“If somebody reports a threat, and then he or she is killed, there should be an investigation into whether the state failed to protect that person and what can be done so the other lives are not lost in the future.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year, on February 21, Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, archaeologist Martina Kusnirova, were murdered in their home in\u00a0Vel’ka Maca, a small village 28 miles east of Bratislava. They were killed by\u00a0a\u00a0professional assassin: Kuciak with\u00a0two\u00a0shots\u00a0to the\u00a0chest, Kusnirova with one to the\u00a0head. Their deaths provoked a public outcry which\u00a0led to\u00a0mass protests\u00a0against\u00a0state\u00a0corruption\u00a0and\u00a0forced the resignation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}