BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia’s prosecutor general has asked Italian authorities to create a joint investigative team with their Slovak counterparts in the case of the slaying of a journalist and his fiancée that triggered a serious political crisis. Jaromir Ciznar says he expects such a team’s investigation into the slayings of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova would be faster, more complex and more effective. Kuciak was reporting on alleged Italian mafia ties to associates of then-Prime Minister Robert Fico, and corruption scandals linked to his leftist Smer Social Democracy party. The Slovaks previously said the FBI, Britain’s Scotland Yard, Europol and police forces from Italy and the Czech Republic are helping with the investigation. Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters rallied across Slovakia Friday to demand an early election.

Source: thestar March 19, 2018 15:11 UTC