Pensioner jailed for Slovak PM Fico assassination attempt

A Slovak court has sentenced the pensioner who shot Prime Minister Robert Fico last year to 21 years in prison after convicting him of a “terror attack.”

The Specialised Criminal Court in Banska Bystrica found 72-year-old Juraj Cintula guilty on October 21, ruling that he acted “with a motivation to stop the proper functioning of the government” in what it described as a “particularly serious” crime, according to Slovak media.

Cintula, a poet from the western Slovak town of Levice, shot Fico four times at close range on May 15, 2024, as the prime minister left a government meeting in central Slovakia.

He later claimed he had been driven by “moral despair.” Fico was left severely wounded but returned to office two months later.

The shooting and subsequent trial have deeply shaken the small NATO member state. Now in his fourth term, Fico has repeatedly accused the liberal opposition and media of inciting the assassination attempt, though he has provided no evidence to support the claim.

Prosecutors initially charged Cintula with premeditated murder but later reclassified the case as a “terror attack,” citing his political motives.

“It was worth it,” local media quoted Cintula as shouting earlier this month as he left court following his closing statement. According to a leaked police video, Cintula told investigators he had wanted to protest against Fico’s policies, including the suspension of military aid to war-torn Ukraine.

In his final statement to the court, a visibly emotional Cintula said he had been overcome with “moral despair,” accusing Fico of being “drunk with power” and making “irrational decisions that damage this country.”

Cintula’s lawyer, Namir Alyasry, told reporters after the verdict that he would “most likely appeal.”

PM Fico, who did not attend the trial, has previously said he forgave his attacker, describing him as a “messenger of evil and political hatred” fostered by the “politically unsuccessful and frustrated opposition.”

By Nazrin Sadigova