BANSKA BYSTRICA: A Slovak court ruled that a man who shot and wounded Prime Minister Robert Fico last year was guilty of terrorism charges and handed him a 21-year jail sentence. Juraj Cintula, 72, shot at Fico five times from just over a one-metre distance as the prime minister greeted people in the central Slovak town of Handlova in May 2024.
The verdict of the Specialised Criminal Court in the city of Banska Bystrica closes a trial that began in July and whose main question was whether Cintula, who admitted shooting Fico, was guilty of terrorism or less serious crimes of murder or attack. Fico, 61, was struck four times and was seriously injured in his abdomen, and also suffered injuries to his hip, hand and foot. He made his first public appearance in July last year.
Judge Igor Kralik cited Cintula's own reasoning for the attack when reading his justification for the terrorism count. "The court considers proven that the defendant did not attack a citizen but specifically the prime minister", Kralik said. The sentence was less than the maximum of life in prison. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
