The suspect in the attempted murder of the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, appeared on Saturday May 18 before the criminal court in Pezinok, northeast of Bratislava. He was remanded in custody because “there is fear of a potential escape or that criminal activity will continue”, said Katarina Kudjakova, the court spokesperson. The court’s decision follows the request presented Friday by the prosecutor, who charged the suspect with attempted premeditated murder.
The man, identified by Slovak media as 71-year-old poet Juraj Cintula, fired five shots at Mr. Fico on Wednesday, hitting him four times. The events took place as Mr. Fico greeted his supporters after a government meeting relocated to Handlova, in central Slovakia. He was taken to hospital by helicopter and underwent surgery which lasted five hours.
Mr. Fico, in office since his centrist populist party, SMER, won the general elections in the fall of 2023, underwent a new two-hour intervention on Friday. “Yesterday’s surgical intervention, which lasted two hours, contributed to a positive prognosis for the Prime Minister’s state of health”Slovak Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova told reporters on Saturday.
“If the shot had gone a few centimeters higher, it would have hit the prime minister’s liver”Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told TV channel TA3.
Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak, Mr. Fico’s closest political ally, told reporters that the latter was conscious. “I don’t think he can be transported to Bratislava in the next few days, because his condition is still serious”he continued.
He said doctors removed anything potentially infectious from his wounds during Friday’s operation. “It will take four or five days for the body to begin to overcome such injuries, but we are not there yet”underlined Mr. Kalinak, welcoming the good physical shape of the head of government, known to be a fan of running and bodybuilding.
The country deeply shocked
Mr. Fico is serving his fourth term as prime minister after campaigning on peace proposals between Russia and Ukraine, Slovakia’s neighbor, and on cutting off military aid to kyiv, which his government subsequently did.
The assassination attempt deeply shocked this country of 5.4 million inhabitants, a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, already strongly divided politically for several years.
The outgoing pro-Western president, Zuzana Caputova, and her successor, Peter Pellegrini, an ally of Mr. Fico who will take office in June, have called on their fellow Slovak citizens to refrain from any “confrontation” after the attack. They called a meeting of all parliamentary party leaders for Tuesday to show unity in the wake of the attack. But some politicians have already launched accusations against their opponents, accusing them of being behind the attack.
Robert Kalinak, deputy prime minister and Mr. Fico’s closest ally, criticized opposition politicians and some media on Friday for calling Mr. Fico a criminal, a dictator or a servant of Russian President Vladimir Putin before the attack. “All these lies are the main reason why Robert Fico is fighting for his life today”he declared in a message published on the SMER website.