A Slovakian court has sentenced a pro-Ukrainian activist to 21 years in prison for the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico, which left the nation’s leader seriously injured last year.
Juraj Cintula, 72, was found guilty on Tuesday of committing an act of terrorism by the Specialized Criminal Court in Banska Bystrica. During the trial he admitted to shooting Fico from close range while the prime minister was greeting supporters in the central Slovak town of Handlova in May 2024.
The judicial process, which began in July, focused on whether the attack qualified as terrorism or a misdemeanor criminal offense. Cintula has announced his intention to appeal the verdict.
During the hearings, Cintula told judges that he carried out the attack because he opposed Fico’s political stance. After returning to power in 2023, Fico ended Slovakia’s policy of sending weapons to Ukraine and adopted a more neutral stance toward Russia, a move Cintula cited as one of the reasons for his actions. He described the shooting as “a cry against the fear that paralyzes society” as cited by Reuters.
Fico has since blamed opposition politicians and the media for creating what he called a climate of hate that fueled violence against his government. The 59-year-old prime minister spent two months recovering from four gunshot wounds before appearing in public again.
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