THOUSANDS rallied in dozens of cities and towns across Slovakia on Wednesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the murders of an investigative journalist and his fiancee amid a wave of anti-government protests.

Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead at their home in the town of Velka Maca, east of Bratislava, on February 21 2018.

Three people received stiff prison terms for their roles in the killings, including former soldier Miroslav Marcek, who pleaded guilty to shooting them.

Marian Kocner, a businessman who had been accused of masterminding the killings, has been acquitted twice. Prosecutors have said they believe Mr Kocner paid Mr Marcek to carry out the shooting.

The journalist’s father, Jozef Kuciak, thanked people in the capital “for helping us in the fight for justice for our children.”

The killings sparked major street protests that led to the collapse of a coalition government headed then by current Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Mr Fico returned to power last year after his party Smer (Direction) won the September 30 parliamentary election on an anti-United States platform.

Known for his tirades against journalists, Mr Fico has said that a major television network, two nationwide newspapers and online news website Kucia were working for his enemies and he will not communicate with them.

Pavol Szalai of media watchdog Reporters Without Borders told the crowd in Bratislava that “[Fico] again makes a target of journalists and threatens freedom of press.”

An open statement signed by editors-in-chief of a number of major Slovak newspapers and other media organisations said that “we will never be silent.”

Thousands of people have repeatedly taken to the streets across Slovakia recently to rally against Mr Fico’s plan to amend the penal code and eliminate the office of the special prosecutor that deals with major crime and corruption.