Latest news with #BanskaBystrica
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Suspect in shooting of Slovakia's populist leader Fico stands trial on terror charges
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A man went on trial Tuesday over last year's attempted assassination of Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico . Juraj Cintula, appearing in court in the central city of Banská Bystrica, has been indicted on terror charges. 'Long live democracy, long live free culture,' Cintula shouted as he arrived at the Specialized Criminal Court.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Slovak gunman who shot PM to go on trial
The man who admitted to shooting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is due to stand trial on terror charges on Tuesday, more than a year after the attack shocked the central European country. Nationalist, Kremlin-friendly Fico was shot four times from close range after a government meeting in the central Slovak mining town of Handlova on May 15, 2024, leaving him seriously wounded. Detained at the scene, Juraj Cintula, a 72-year-old poet, who has admitted to shooting the leader with the intention to wound but not kill him, is facing up to life in prison if convicted. The hearing at a special penal court in the central city of Banska Bystrica is due to start at 0700 GMT on Tuesday. - 'Examine intent' - Prosecutors argue that Cintula sought to "permanently prevent Fico from serving as prime minister, thereby preventing the Slovak government from proper functioning and fulfilling its programme". Just after the shooting, Cintula told the police he wanted to protest against steps taken by Fico's government, including the halting of military aid to war-ravaged Ukraine, according to a leaked video. Cintula, who used a legally owned gun, told the Novy cas tabloid in a rare interview in May that he did not want to kill Fico: "I did not shoot at the heart or the head." He said he had plotted the attack for two days and added he was relieved to see Fico survived. "I have lost physical freedom, but mentally I was liberated... I feel no inner tension. In prison, one must run across green meadows in the mind to stay sane," Cintula told Novy cas. The Cintula case file comprises 18 volumes and more than 6,200 pages. Cintula was originally charged with premeditated murder, but prosecutors later reclassified the shooting as a terror attack. This means they will have to prove Cintula wanted to harm the state, Tomas Stremy, a criminal law professor at Comenius University in Bratislava, told AFP. "It is essential to examine the perpetrator's intent," he said. - Lasting 'polarisation' - Fico underwent two lengthy operations and returned to work two months after the attack. The 60-year-old is serving a fourth term as premier, heading a three-party coalition governing the EU and NATO member of 5.4 million people since 2023. Since his return to office, Fico's government has launched a crackdown on non-profit organisations, LGBTQ rights, cultural institutions and some media it deems "hostile", drawing protests in the heavily polarised country. Fico's friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has also led thousands of Slovaks to rally against him under the slogan of "Slovakia is Europe" as Russian troops keep pounding Ukraine. Fico himself called Cintula a "product of hatred, an assassin created by media and the opposition". "The governing coalition naturally tried to use (the shooting) to its advantage," Grigorij Meseznikov, a political analyst at the Institute for Public Affairs, told AFP. "This included associating the horrible act with the activities of opposition parties without any evidence or witness testimony to support these claims," he added. But he said the shooting did not change Slovakia's political landscape. He said the trial would be closely watched, but regardless of the verdict, "the polarisation will last". pv-frj/jza/giv/sco
Reuters
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Trial set to open in Slovakia of man who shot and wounded PM Fico
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia, July 8 (Reuters) - A Slovak court will begin the trial on Tuesday of a man who shot and seriously wounded Prime Minister Robert Fico in May last year, an attack that both exposed and exacerbated political and social divisions in the small central European country. The 72-year-old Juraj C. stands accused of terrorism for an attack that prosecutors say was aimed at incapacitating the government. He faces up to life imprisonment if found guilty by the Specialised Criminal Court. The attacker, a former mine worker, stonemason, security guard, but also the author of poetry and prose and a public activist, has told investigators he shot at Fico to hurt but not kill him, due to what he said were disagreements with the prime minister's policies on Ukraine, media and culture. Fico, a 60-year-old fourth-time prime minister, has clashed with Slovakia's partners in the European Union and NATO over his opposition to providing military aid to Ukraine and his efforts to maintain working relations with Russia. He has also pushed through criminal law and media reforms which critics say undermine democracy, and - echoing Prime Minister Victor Orban of neighbouring Hungary - has pledged to build a "dam against liberalism" through constitutional reforms. Fico has accused the attacker of being an opposition activist and has accused the opposition - an array of mostly liberal-pro EU parties - of stoking hatred. The main opposition parties denied any connection to the shooter. Fico's tilt towards Russia triggered large public protests earlier this year, which he said were aimed at triggering a coup against the government, an assertion denied by protest organisers. Fico has said he has forgiven the attacker and does not intend to attend the trial unless called to testify. The court has set hearings for Tuesday and Wednesday but further hearings are possible later this year before a verdict is reached. The first day is expected to include a reading of the charges and questioning of the suspect. The suspect fired five shots from a handgun from 1.2 metres as the prime minister greeted citizens in the central Slovak town of Hand. Fico was hit four times, including in the abdomen, and underwent urgent surgery and treatment at the Banksia Hysteria hospital. His full diagnosis has not been revealed.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trial set to open in Slovakia of man who shot and wounded PM Fico
By Jan Lopatka BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (Reuters) -A Slovak court will begin the trial on Tuesday of a man who shot and seriously wounded Prime Minister Robert Fico in May last year, an attack that both exposed and exacerbated political and social divisions in the small central European country. The 72-year-old Juraj C. stands accused of terrorism for an attack that prosecutors say was aimed at incapacitating the government. He faces up to life imprisonment if found guilty by the Specialised Criminal Court. The attacker, a former mine worker, stonemason, security guard, but also the author of poetry and prose and a public activist, has told investigators he shot at Fico to hurt but not kill him, due to what he said were disagreements with the prime minister's policies on Ukraine, media and culture. Fico, a 60-year-old fourth-time prime minister, has clashed with Slovakia's partners in the European Union and NATO over his opposition to providing military aid to Ukraine and his efforts to maintain working relations with Russia. He has also pushed through criminal law and media reforms which critics say undermine democracy, and - echoing Prime Minister Victor Orban of neighbouring Hungary - has pledged to build a "dam against liberalism" through constitutional reforms. Fico has accused the attacker of being an opposition activist and has accused the opposition - an array of mostly liberal-pro EU parties - of stoking hatred. The main opposition parties denied any connection to the shooter. Fico's tilt towards Russia triggered large public protests earlier this year, which he said were aimed at triggering a coup against the government, an assertion denied by protest organisers. Fico has said he has forgiven the attacker and does not intend to attend the trial unless called to testify. The court has set hearings for Tuesday and Wednesday but further hearings are possible later this year before a verdict is reached. The first day is expected to include a reading of the charges and questioning of the suspect. The suspect fired five shots from a handgun from 1.2 metres as the prime minister greeted citizens in the central Slovak town of Hand. Fico was hit four times, including in the abdomen, and underwent urgent surgery and treatment at the Banksia Hysteria hospital. His full diagnosis has not been revealed.
