Officials: Suspects in Slovak slain journalist case arrested

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Officials in Slovakia say police have arrested suspects in the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee, a case that brought down the Slovak government.

Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said on Facebook that he was happy to receive news of the arrests. Daniel Lipsic, a lawyer representing the families of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova, says the suspects were arrested early on Thursday.

Police confirmed that raids were taking place and arrests had been made, but did not mention the Kuciak case.

Kuciak and Kusnirova were shot dead in their home on Feb. 21. Slovak authorities said they believed it was a contract killing linked to Kuciak’s work investigating possible widespread government corruption and ties between politicians and Italian mobsters.

The killings triggered a political crisis that resulted in major protests, the dismissal of the national police chief and the government’s collapse.