Thousands of Marian Kočner’s text messages, backed by court testimony, provide a remarkable inside look into the rot at the heart of Slovakia’s judicial system.

The 21-day trial of the murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee, concluded on Thursday with the prosecutor recommending that the three remaining defendants in the case receive 25-year prison sentences.

A former soldier has received a 23 year jail term on Monday after a court found him guilty for the murder of Slovakian journalistJán Kuciak and his fiancée.

Slovakpolice said they have arrested 18 people, including 13 judges, who allegedly obstructed justice in the case of the murder of journalistJán Kuciak and his fiancee in 2018.

Jan Kuciak wasn’t the only person notorious businessman Marian Kočner and his associate Alena Zsuzsová wanted to see dead, according to the explosive testimony of the only person convicted so far of involvement in the killing of the young Slovak journalist.

What you need to know about Slovakia’s ‘historic’ trial for the murder of Jan Kuciak

“I would like to ask the defendants: who gave them the right to touch the lives of our children? The defendants also have children — daughters.”

One of the four suspects accused of killing Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak pleaded guilty to murder on Monday at the start of a landmark criminal trial seen as a test of Slovakia’s readiness to try alleged organized crime figures with political connections.

A Slovakian court sentenced a middleman in the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiance Martina Kušnírová to 15 years in prison on Monday, marking the beginning of a judicial process seen by some as a test of the strength of the court system against the interests of the rich and politically connected.

On International Human Rights Day Tuesday, the United States Treasury announced sanctions against Marian Kočner, a controversial businessman facing trial in Slovakia later this month for his alleged leading role in the murders of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiance Martina Kušnírová. 

Leaked footage obtained by OCCRP shows Slovakia’s former Prosecutor General Dobroslav Trnka setting up a camera in what is believed to be his office with someone who appears to be controversial businessman and murder suspect Marian Kočner.