7 months ago
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A tribunal successful Slovakia connected Tuesday (October 21, 2025) convicted a antheral of a panic onslaught and sentenced him to 21 years successful situation implicit past year’s attempted assassination of the country’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The shooting and the proceedings person shaken this small, European Union and NATO-member country, wherever Mr. Fico has agelong been a divisive figure, criticised for straying from Slovakia’s pro-Western way and aligning it person to Russia.
Juraj Cintula opened occurrence connected Mr. Fico connected May 15, 2024, arsenic the Prime Minister greeted supporters pursuing a authorities gathering successful the municipality of Handlová, astir 140 km northeast of the superior of Bratislava.
Cintula, 72, was arrested instantly aft the onslaught and remanded successful custody. When questioned by investigators, helium rejected the accusation of being a “terrorist.”
Mr. Fico was changeable successful the abdomen and was taken from Handlová to a infirmary successful the adjacent metropolis of Banská Bystrica. He underwent a five-hour surgery, followed by different two-hour cognition 2 days later. He has since recovered.
Cintula has claimed his motive for the shooting was that helium disagreed with authorities policies. He refused to attest earlier the Specialised Criminal Court successful Banská Bystrica. but confirmed that what helium had told investigators astir his motive remains true.
“The suspect did not onslaught a citizen, but specifically the Prime Minister,” Igor Králik, the caput of the three-judge panel, said successful delivering the verdict. “He was against the government, helium was inciting radical to overthrow the government.”
The verdict of the sheet was unanimous. The tribunal said that Cintula’s property and the information that helium had nary transgression grounds contributed to wherefore helium did not person beingness imprisonment.
“It is unjust,” Cintula kept saying successful Slovak arsenic helium was leaving the courtroom.
In his testimony, work by a authoritative astatine the trial, Cintula said helium disagreed with Mr. Fico’s policies, including the cancellation of a peculiar prosecution bureau dealing with corruption, the extremity of subject assistance for Ukraine and the government’s attack to culture.
“I decided to harm the wellness of the premier curate but I had nary volition to termination anyone,” helium said successful the testimony. He besides said helium was relieved erstwhile helium learned the premier survived.
Cintula’s attorney, Namir Alyasry, told reporters his lawsuit would precise apt entreaty the verdict. He was primitively charged with attempted execution but prosecutors aboriginal dropped that complaint and said they were alternatively pursuing the much superior complaint of engaging successful a panic attack. They said it was based connected grounds the investigators obtained but gave nary further details.
Government officials initially said they believed it was a politically motivated onslaught committed by a “lone wolf,” but announced aboriginal that a 3rd enactment mightiness person been progressive successful “acting for the payment of the perpetrator.”
Mr. Fico antecedently said helium “had nary crushed to believe” it was an onslaught by a lone deranged idiosyncratic and repeatedly blamed the wide absorption and media for the assassination attempt. There is nary grounds for that.
The Prime Minister was not contiguous astatine the proceedings and did not instantly remark connected the verdict. Mr. Fico had antecedently said helium felt “no hatred” towards his attacker, forgave him and planned nary ineligible enactment against him.
Mr. Fico returned to powerfulness for the 4th clip aft his leftist Smer, oregon Direction, enactment won the 2023 parliamentary predetermination aft campaigning connected a pro-Russia and anti-American message.
His critics person charged that Slovakia nether Mr. Fico is pursuing the absorption of Hungary nether Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Thousands person repeatedly rallied successful Bratislava and crossed Slovakia to protestation Mr. Fico’s pro-Russian stance and different policies.
