Andruskó claims Kočner was involved in murder of former Hurbanovo mayor Basternák
Key witness in the case of journalist Ján Kuciak's murder, Zoltán Andruskó, testified in court that Marian Kočner allegedly had a connection to the murder of Hurbanovo's former mayor László Basternák.
Andruskó claims Kočner was involved in murder of former Hurbanovo mayor Basternák
Key witness in the case of the contract killing of journalist Ján Kuciak, Zoltán Andruskó, mentioned during the main hearing at the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok that Marian Kočner allegedly was involved in the murder of Hurbanovo's former mayor László Basternák. Andruskó said he received this information from Alena Zsuzsová.
Andruskó, who is serving a 15-year unconditional prison sentence for his role in arranging the journalist's murder, testified while clarifying contradictions in his earlier evidence. Marian Kočner's defence lawyer Marek Para asked the witness whether Alena Zsuzsová had told him about Kočner's involvement in other murders. In this connection, Andruskó mentioned the murder of László Basternák, for which Zsuzsová has been finally convicted. However, the witness could not specify exactly what Zsuzsová told him or when.
The court continued on Monday with clarifying contradictions in Andruskó's testimony. Prosecutors were particularly interested in discrepancies concerning the payment of a deposit for the alleged preparation of the murder of current Slovak Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinský. Marian Kočner's legal representative Marek Para also pointed out Andruskó's May testimony about an earlier meeting with Marian Kočner, whereas in the past the witness had repeatedly claimed that he had not met the accused personally. Andruskó responded that he had already mentioned the meeting at the main hearing in 2022 or 2023, and it was supposed to have taken place in 2007 in connection with construction work.
In the case of the murder of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušníková from February 2018, Marian Kočner and Alena Zsuzsová face charges of contract killing. The Slovak Supreme Court quashed the two previous verdicts and the case has thus reached the Specialised Criminal Court for the third time. The perpetrators of the murder, Miroslav Marček and Tomáš Szabó, have already received 25-year unconditional sentences, and Andruskó received 15 years unconditional.
In addition to the murder of the journalist, Kočner and Zsuzsová, together with Dušan Kracin and Darko Dragič, face charges relating to the preparation of murders of prosecutors. Orders for the murders of Maroš Žilinský and Daniel Lipšic allegedly came in autumn 2017, and in the case of Peter Šufliarsky in 2018. These were not carried out.
Source: TNLIVE.sk
Source: Google News SK