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A court in Slovakia has sentenced a man accused of attempting to assassinate populist Prime Minister Robert Fico last year to 21 years in prison.
He was found guilty of terrorist attack by the Specialized Criminal Court in the city of Banská Bystrica. Juraj Cintula, 72, was accused of shooting at Fico on May 15, 2024, as the prime minister was greeting supporters after a government meeting in the town of Handlová, about 140 kilometers northeast of Bratislava.
After the attack, Cintula was immediately arrested and held in custody. During interrogation, he denied being a terrorist.
Fico was shot in the stomach and rushed to the hospital in Banská Bystrica, where he underwent a five-hour surgery, followed two days later by another two-hour operation. Today, he is fully recovered.
Cintula has stated that his action was motivated by disagreement with government policies. He refused to testify in court, but confirmed that the statements he had previously given to investigators about his motive remain valid. In the text of his testimony, read in court by a prosecutor, Cintula said he was against several decisions of the Fico government, including the closure of the special anti-corruption office, the ban on military aid to Ukraine and the government's stance on cultural issues.
"I decided to injure the prime minister, but I did not intend to kill anyone," he declared, adding that he was relieved to learn that Fico had survived. Initially, Cintula was charged with attempted murder, but the prosecution replaced the charge with that of terrorist attack, based on new evidence, without providing further details.
Initially, authorities described the incident as a politically motivated attack carried out by a "lone wolf," but then it was rumored that a third person may have assisted the assassin.
Fico, who was not present at the trial, has stated that he feels no hatred towards his aggressor, that he has forgiven him and that he does not wish to take legal action against him. Always a divisive figure in Slovakia and abroad, Fico is back in power for the fourth time after his leftist Smer (Direction) party won the 2023 parliamentary elections, campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-American message.
Critics accuse him of abandoning Slovakia's pro-Western line and following the example of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Thousands of citizens have protested in Bratislava and other Slovak cities against Fico's pro-Russian stance and his government policies.
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