BRATISLAVA: A man went on trial Tuesday over last year\u2019s attempted assassination of Slovakia\u2019s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.<\/p>\n
Juraj Cintula, appearing in court in the central city of Bansk\u00e1 Bystrica, has been indicted on terror charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong live democracy, long live free culture,\u201d Cintula shouted as he arrived at the Specialized Criminal Court.<\/p>\n
The 72-year-old is accused of opening fire on Fico on May 15, 2024, as the prime minister greeted supporters following a government meeting in the town of Handlov\u00e1, located 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital.<\/p>\n
Cintula was immediately arrested and was ordered by a court to remain behind bars. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Fico was shot in the abdomen and was transported to a hospital in nearby Bansk\u00e1 Bystrica. He underwent a five-hour surgery, followed by another two-hour surgery two days later. He has since recovered.<\/p>\n
Cintula originally was charged with attempted murder. Prosecutors later dropped that charge and said they were instead pursuing the more serious charge of engaging in a terror attack, based on evidence the investigators obtained, but they gave no further details.<\/p>\n
Government officials initially said that they believed it was a politically motivated attack committed by a \u201clone wolf,\u201d but announced later that a third party might have been involved in \u201cacting for the benefit of the perpetrator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fico previously said he \u201chad no reason to believe\u201d that it was an attack by a lone deranged person and repeatedly blamed the liberal opposition and media for the assassination attempt.<\/p>\n
Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond. He returned to power for the fourth time after his leftist Smer, or Direction, party won the 2023 parliamentary election after campaigning on a pro-Russia and anti-American message.<\/p>\n
His critics have charged that Slovakia under Fico has abandoned its pro-Western course and is following the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n
Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico\u2019s pro-Russian stance and other policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRATISLAVA: A man went on trial Tuesday over last year\u2019s attempted assassination of Slovakia\u2019s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico. Juraj Cintula, appearing in court in the central city of Bansk\u00e1 Bystrica, has been indicted on terror charges. \u201cLong live democracy, long live free culture,\u201d Cintula shouted as he arrived at the Specialized Criminal Court. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-488958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n