A hitman who killed a journalist in Slovakia, allegedly on orders from a businessman, has been jailed for 23 years.

Miroslav Marček, a former soldier, pleaded guilty of having murdered Jan Kuciak and his fiancée in February 2018.  

In January, a middleman accused wealthy entrepreneur Marian Kocner of having ordered the hit that shook the nation.

Zoltan Andrusko, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail on a plea bargain, testified in court against his alleged co-conspirators.

Jan Kuciak had been probing Kocner's business activities.

The double murder triggered mass protests that toppled then-premier Robert Fico and became a lightning rod for outrage against high-level corruption in the EU member state. 

He claimed that a friend of Kocner's handed him 50,000 eurosthe morning after the killings to give to confessed gunman Miroslav Marcek and his cousin and alleged sidekick Tomas Szabo, who denied involvement.