A court in Slovakia sentences the man in the attempted assassination of prime minister to 21 years

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A court in Slovakia on Tuesday convicted the man in last year’s attempted assassination of the country’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico of a terror attack and sentenced him to 21 years in prison.

The shooting and the trial have shaken this small, European Union and NATO-member country where Fico has long been a divisive figure, criticized for straying from Slovakia’s pro-Western path and aligning it closer to Russia.

Juraj Cintula opened fire on Fico on May 15, 2024, as the prime minister greeted supporters following a government meeting in the town of Handlová, about 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital of Bratislava.

Cintula, 72, was arrested immediately after the attack and ordered to remain behind bars. When questioned by investigators, he rejected the accusation of being a “terrorist.”

Fico was shot in the abdomen and was taken from Handlová to a hospital in nearby city of Banská Bystrica. He underwent a five-hour surgery, followed by another two-hour surgery two days later. He has since recovered.

Cintula has claimed his motive for the shooting was that he disagreed with government policies. He refused to testify before the Specialized Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica. but confirmed that what he had told investigators about his motive remains true.

“The defendant did not attack a citizen, but specifically the prime minister,” Igor Králik, the head of the three-judge panel, said in delivering the verdict. “He was against the government, he was inciting people to overthrow the government.”

In his testimony read by a prosecutor at the trial, Cintula said he disagreed with Fico’s policies, including the cancellation of a special prosecution office dealing with corruption, the end of military help for Ukraine and the government’s approach to culture.

“I decided to harm the health of the prime minister but I had no intention to kill anyone,” he said in the testimony. He also said he was relieved when he learned the premier survived.

Cintula can still appeal the verdict but it was not immediately clear if he would do so. He was originally charged with attempted murder but prosecutors later dropped that charge and said they were instead pursuing the more serious charge of engaging in a terror attack. They said it was based on evidence the investigators obtained but gave no further details.

Government officials initially said they believed it was a politically motivated attack committed by a “lone wolf,” but announced later that a third party might have been involved in “acting for the benefit of the perpetrator.”

Fico previously said he “had no reason to believe” it was an attack by a lone deranged person and repeatedly blamed the liberal opposition and media for the assassination attempt. There is no evidence for that.

The prime minister was not present at the trial and did not immediately comment on the verdict. Fico had previously said he felt “no hatred” towards his attacker, forgave him and planned no legal action against him.

Fico 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.

His critics have charged that Slovakia under Fico is following the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Thousands have repeatedly rallied in Bratislava and across Slovaka to protest Fico’s pro-Russian stance and other policies.

Karel Janicek, The Associated Press