Crown Witness Testifies Former Police Chief and Prosecutor Covered Up Murders

Zoltán Andruskó, the crown witness in the murder case of journalist Ján Kuciak, testified in court that former police chief Tibor Gašpar threatened him through an intermediary not to testify about the murder of ex-mayor L. Basternák of Hurbanovo, warning he would "end up like him." Andruskó also alleged that former Special Prosecutor Dušan Kováčik was supposed to ensure impunity for a planned assassination of prosecutor Maroš Žilinka. The testimony comes as part of ongoing court proceedings in Slovakia's most prominent murder case, which exposed deep corruption links between organized crime and law enforcement. Kuciak, an investigative journalist, and his fiancée were murdered in 2018 while he was investigating ties between Italian mafia and Slovak politicians, a case that led to massive protests and the resignation of then-Prime Minister Robert Fico.