Witness testifies in Pezinok court about surveillance of Kuciak before his death
Former SIS officer Peter Tóth recounted how journalist Ján Kuciak was monitored on the orders of Marián Kočner.
Witness testifies in Pezinok court about surveillance of Kuciak before his death
A retrial is being held in Pezinok in the case of murdered investigative journalist. Peter Tóth, who once worked as a journalist and later for the SIS, has been answering the court's questions for several days.
In the middle of 2017, Tóth became involved in activities around Marián Kočner. Their joint project was intended to damage the reputation of journalists who wrote about controversial topics. It was then that Tóth received the instruction to have the commando unit under his supervision begin monitoring Ján Kuciak's movements.
The first record of Kuciak was created in autumn 2017 in front of the building where his newsroom was located in the capital. However, the journalist was not a media-famous public figure, so obtaining his private details was not straightforward. Tóth therefore asked Kočner for help in obtaining information from police sources.
Kočner liked to boast that he had good relations with an influential businessman from Nitra. According to Tóth, this man had access to police materials and occasionally shared them. Thanks to him, the surveillance team obtained police records material – a graphical representation of relationships between individuals.
In this material, Kuciak's residence was listed as a village near Bytča, where in fact his parents lived. Tóth explained that this made no sense, as the victim travelled daily to Bratislava for work. Nevertheless, they managed to locate him via his vehicle and workplace. Later, a message came from Kočner with a specific address of a house in Veľká Mača.
Tóth emphasised that the surveillance yielded only insignificant information. Kuciak only travelled between his residence and his workplace. The records contained details such as him buying a drink and food at a stand.
On the day the journalist and his partner became victims of violent death, Tóth halted the group's activities. The bodies were discovered in their house in the afternoon hours.
Tóth began cooperating with investigators in 2018, when he realised the project was merely a cover operation. In the first trial phase six years ago, he accused Kočner and his associate of complicity in the crime. Nevertheless, the panel acquitted them. Two years later, he decided to remain silent, but now he is testifying again.
The defence counsel of the main accused admitted that the passages about monitoring are crucial for the decision. The presiding judge was interested in details of the records kept by another member of the group.
Source: Denník N
Source: Denník N