Slovakia's interior minister has resigned following the assassination of a journalist and his partner. 

Robert Kalinak, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister stepped down after tens of thousands of Slovaks on Friday protested against the government and corruption, following the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee last month.

"I think to fulfil my mandate I have to do everything to preserve stability in Slovakia," Kalinak told reporters. "For this reason I have decided to resign as deputy prime minister and interior minister."

Kalinak, who has been suspected of corruption in several cases, was under growing pressure.

About 40,000 people gathered in Bratislava, making it the biggest protest in the country since the 1989 Velvet Revolution that toppled Communism in former Czechoslovakia.

Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, both 27, were found shot dead at their home near Bratislava on February 25.

Police have said Kuciak's death was "most likely" related to his investigation resulting in an article on ties between Slovakia's top politicians and the Italian mafia, which his employer posthumously published.

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