Suspect charged in attempted assassination of Slovakia leader

Slovakian police have charged a man, described as a politically motivated “lone wolf,” with the attempted murder of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is seriously ill in hospital after an assassination attempt that shocked the eastern European nation.

Fico was conscious and able to speak on Thursday afternoon, according to his long-time ally and the Slovakian President-elect Peter Pellegrini who visited him in the hospital.

He said the prime minister was still in serious condition after being shot five times from a close range and undergoing surgery.

The assassination attempt rocked the central European country and sparked global condemnation. Slovakia’s Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the suspect told law enforcement officers that his action was motivated by his disagreement with the government and its reforms.

The 59-year-old populist leader, who returned to power last year and whose controversial policy changes have sparked protests in recent weeks, was attacked on Wednesday after an off-site government meeting in the town of Handlova.

Šutaj Eštok said the police was pursuing only one investigative theory – that the attack was politically motivated.

He said that the suspect told law enforcement officers that he disagreed with Fico’s policies and that he decided to act after the recent presidential election, which saw a Fico ally – Pellegrini – emerge as the winner.

“The reasons (the suspect gave) were the decision to abolish the special prosecutor’s office, the decision to stop supplying military assistance to Ukraine, the reform of public service broadcaster and the dismissal of the judicial council head,” Šutaj Eštok said.

He said the suspect is not a member of any extremist group, calling him “a lone wolf” who had in the past attended anti-government protests.

The alleged shooter has been identified by multiple local media outlets. Asked whether the 71-year-old described in some media as Juraj C. from Levice, a town in southwest Slovakia, is the suspect, the spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, Zuzana Drobová, told CNN on Thursday: “I can confirm this is the person who has been charged.”

Slovakian media reported the shooter was a writer and a poet. The Slovak Writers’ Association said Wednesday that the name identified in the local media was a member of the group.

The prime minister had approached a small crowd of people waiting to meet him, when the suspected gunman in the crowd lunged forward and shot him five times from across a security barrier. Footage from the scene showed the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside. Nobody else was injured in the attack.

The alleged shooter has been identified by multiple local media outlets as a 71-year-old man from southern Slovakia.

There has been no official confirmation of the identity of the shooter, but his face was clearly visible in some of the video footage of the attack and his subsequent arrest.

Slovakian media reported the shooter was a writer and a poet. The Slovak Writers’ Association said Wednesday that the name identified in the local media was a member of the group.

Dramatic footage from the scene of the attack shows the gunman approaching Fico and firing at him from close range across a security barrier.

The injured prime minister is then seen being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside.

Fico was first rushed into a local hospital and then airlifted to a major trauma center in the nearby city of Banská Bystrica, where he spent more than five hours in surgery, according to hospital officials. Officials said he was shot, among other places, in his stomach.

Hospital director Miriam Lapuníková is said Thursday Fico was “stabilized but in a very serious condition” and that he would remain in the hospital’s intensive care unit. She added that the hospital had two surgical teams operating on the prime minister.

On Thursday morning, the country’s Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák said Fico’s condition “has been stabilized overnight, more steps are being taken to better his health. The situation is really serious.”

The assassination attempt sent shockwaves across the country. Kaliňák and Šutaj Eštok delivered an emotional news conference outside the hospital on Wednesday night, saying the leader was “fighting for his life.”

Visibly shaken and sometimes struggling for words, the two ministers appeared in deep shock over the attack. Later in the news conference, both men struck a more combative tone, blaming the attack on the “hatred” being spread by “some people” and the media.

Divisive figure in divided country

Fico is the most powerful lawmaker in Slovakia. Unlike the president, whose role is more ceremonial and has limited scope, the prime minister holds rank as the decision-making head of government.

Slovaks have been deeply divided over the country’s direction and position in the world since Fico’s return to power last year. Supporters see Fico as a caring leader who has their interests at heart; critics say he is a populist whose pro-Russian leanings pose major risks for the country.

Slovakia’s defense and interior ministers blamed rising hate speech and division for the political atmosphere in the country, which they said led to the assassination attempt.

As prime minister, Fico made a major U-turn in Slovakia’s foreign policy and its previously staunch support for Ukraine, pledging to end the country’s military support for Kyiv and promising to block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.

The government is also trying to shut down the public service broadcaster and replace it with a new national broadcaster that would be under tighter state control.

The reforms have been extremely divisive and have led to months of largely peaceful protests.

Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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