‘Mafia State’ Slovakia Struggles to Root Out Corruption

For many Slovaks, the texts are a reminder of the sheer depth of corruption in a country still reeling from the shooting of 27-year-old Kuciak and his fiancée in Bratislava in February 2018.

They see the texts as proof that Kocner, who was already in custody when he was charged with ordering Kuciak's murder, thought he was above the law, though he denies any wrongdoing.

"Slovakia has been a mafia state where people like Kocner dictated the most important decisions in the country," leaders of For a Decent Slovakia, a protest movement, said in a statement this month.

"A system like this cannot be built in a day. It has been created by the 12-year-long government of [former Prime Minister] Robert Fico and his minions, a government with no respect for law and for basic democratic principles."

After Kuciak's murder, For a Decent Slovakia organised mass demonstrations that forced Fico's resignation as prime minister, although he is still leader of the ruling SMER-SD party.

And earlier this year, voters elected anti-corruption lawyer Zuzana Caputova as president in a clear rejection of business as usual.

"After Jan Kuciak's murder, something essential changed," said Matus Kostolny, editor-in-chief of the Dennik N daily, one of the outlets publishing the leaked texts. "The shock was so great that it really shook the system."

After Jan Kuciak's murder, something essential changed. The shock was so great that it really shook the system.

Slovaks will head to the polls before March 2020 for parliamentary elections — the first since Kuciak's murder — and opposition parties say fighting corruption will be their priority.

But transparency experts say Slovakia has a long way to go in unravelling ties...