Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico Shot, Suspect Arrested

The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot during a public meeting in a mountainous central district of the country, a witness speaks of his head and chest having “bloody injuries”.

A gunman shot recently re-elected left-populist Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday afternoon in the central town of Handlova, in the mountainous Trenčín Region. Slovakian publication Denník N reports Fico was meeting members of the public at a local cultural centre when shots rang out. A witness is reported to have said: “When the shots rang out, they were deafening” and that she had seen Fico fall to the ground with “bloody injuries on his chest and head”.

An alleged gunman has been arrested.

UPDATE 2245 BST: Deputy PM Says He Believes Fico “will survive”

Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister for the Slovakian government Tomáš Taraba told the BBC that he believes Prime Minister Robert Fico “will survive” and that he is likely no longer in a life-threatening situation.

“I was very shocked… fortunately as far as I know the operation went well – and I guess in the end he will survive… he’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment,” he said.

Previously, Minister of Defence Robert Kaliňák said that the PM was “fighting for his life” after having been in surgery for over three hours.

The hopeful news comes as Slovakia stands on the brink of all-out political chaos, with Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok saying per POLITICO the attack was an “assassination attempt,” adding that “the first information we have is that this was a politically motivated act.”

“I want to appeal to the public, to journalists and to all politicians to stop spreading hatred,” Eštok said, warning: “We are on the verge of civil war.”

UPDATE 2100 BST: Fico still in critical condition

Slovak Prime Minister has been in surgery for at least three and a half hours and remains in critical condition, with his life still in danger the nation’s defence minister related. The Health minister later updated that Fico is still fighting for his life and is under the care of “a top team of experts”.

Meanwhile, more detail about the attack, and the alleged attacker, are emerging. Regional Slovak television network RTV has broadcast footage (WARNING: graphic) of the actual moment of the shooting, captured from across the street, where a bearded man wearing a blue shirt watches the Prime Minister walk over to members of the public to shake their outstretched hands. As Fico does so, the man rapidly draws a pistol and fires at the politician five times.

Several government politicians have called the shooting politically motivated, and it is claimed in the national media that the alleged gunman had political differences with the Prime Minister. Some outlets have also claimed the alleged gunman has been linked in the past to a pro-Russian paramilitary, but the facts of the matter on this and much else are unclear, and in any case not officially confirmed.

UPDATE 1720 BST: Images of the arrest

Images supplied by Getty show Robert Fico, unable to stand, being dragged to his car by his team. According to Slovak press, Fico is still being operated on, hours after the attack.

Also pictured is the arrest of the suspected gunman, which mainstream Slovak media reports is a 71 year old man from Levice, a historic town 50 miles to the south of where the attack took place. Denník N reports the alleged attacker is a poet and “member of the leftist Rainbow Literary Club”.

Right-wing publication Konzervatívny denník Postoj (‘The Conservative Daily Post’) claims to be able to name the suspect as Slovakian author, poet, and activist Juraj Cintula. According to the publication he has published three collections of poetry and is a member of the Association of Slovak writers. He has publicly expressed himself against violence, and eight years ago said he was founding an organisation called Left Against Violence.

In the launch, he spoke about mass migration and criticised the “hatred and extremism”, saying: “Every normal person rejects violence… Our goal is to unite people, preserve peace and restore democracy. It is very difficult because no one trusts anyone anymore. The world is full of chaos and hatred.”

UPDATE 1605 BST: Fico arrives at Banská Bystrica hospital

Getty now has a series of images from the Slovak Prime Minister’s arrival at Banská Bystrica hospital. When we heard from the Prime Minister’s office earlier they said he was being medevac’d to Banská Bystrica rather than the capital Bratislava because he needed surgery urgently. Fico is shielded from view on an emergency gurney after being removed from a helicopter, and is surrounded by paramedics and bodyguards.

UPDATE 1555 BST: Foreign Minister says he believes Fico will recover

Juraj Blanár, the Slovak foreign minister has said Fico was hit “several times” at “close range” by the would-be assassin and is in “very serious condition”. Nevertheless, he made an expression of hope, saying: “We all believe that the Prime Minister will handle this difficult fight.”

Whether this is an expression that Fico’s prognosis is improving or mere words of hope is yet to be seen.

UPDATE 1515 BST: Prime Minister Fico in Critical Condition

The Office of the Prime Minister has released a statement through Fico’s personal Facebook page, relating that he is in critical condition and has been evacuated by helicopter. They said:

R. Fico was [subjected to an attempted assassination] today. He was shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition. At this moment, he is being transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an [urgent surgery] . The next few hours will decide.

Reuters reports four shots were fired, and one of them hit Fico in the abdomen.

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Footage shared from the scene shows bodyguards pick up Fico and rush him to his limousine, which then speeds away. In the foreground, police can be seen piling on to what may be the suspect on the ground.

Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová called the apparent attempted assassination as brutal, and said: “I am shocked. I wish Roberto Fico a lot of strength at this critical moment to recover from the attack”, reports national broadsheet newspaper SME. The Slovakian parliament and a meeting of the government has been suspended.

The shooting was immediately met with anger in Parliament, Denník N reports. It is stated Richard Glück of Fico’s own party the left-wing-nationalist Direction – Social Democracy (‘Smer’) stormed into the parliamentary chamber and shouted at members of the opposition that Fico had been shot because of their rhetoric. Per the report, Glück was criticised by others for not acting with the decorum of a public official, and the Parliament’s speaker in turn said Glück should be given understanding for his emotional state has the head of his party had just been shot.

Tomáš Taraba, the Slovak environment minister and one of the country’s four deputy Prime Ministers wrote immediately after the shooting that: “The entire hateful opposition has blood on their hands”.

Fico was re-elected to the Slovakian leadership at the end of last year, having already held the post twice before. An economically left-wing populist with a strong focus on border control and Slovakia for the Slovakians, he has been called “Slovakia’s Trump” in the past for his opposition to mass migration to Slovakia and criticisms of unfair elections. The politician is also a Eurosceptic and a strong ideological opponent of the coronavirus lockdowns, and in a remarkable turn of events was arrested on live television in 2021 for openly defying the then-government’s covid rules.

More recently, criticism of Fico from the European mainstream has focussed on his opposition to the war in Ukraine, leading to some to accuse him of being “pro-Putin”. Fico, for his part, strongly denied these assertions and stated he is not pro-Russian, just anti-war. Fico has recently suggested Ukraine should be willing to cede territory to Moscow to get peace, and has strongly rejected suggestions by French President Emmanuel Macron that NATO should deploy troops to Ukraine itself.

This story is developing, more follows.