Slovakia Charges Three People With Journalist Kuciak's Murder

An impromptu memorial to Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova who were killed at their home near Bratislava in February.

Slovakia's state prosecutor has charged three people with the premeditated murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee in February, a spokeswoman said on September 28.

The three people were detained in a house raid on September 27.

Five others detained in the same raid have been released, the spokeswoman said.

Jan Kuciak was found shot dead along with Martina Kusnirova at their home near the capital, Bratislava, in February. They were both 27.

The authorities have said they believed it was a contract killing linked to Kuciak's work.

The journalist was investigating political corruption at the time of the slayings, which triggered the biggest street protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism in 1989 and a political crisis that led to the fall of former Prime Minister Robert Fico's government in March.

Based on reporting by Reuters, Idnes, AP and dpa