Slovak court sentences poet that shot PM to 21 years for ‘terror attack’

The populist authorities has blamed the 2024 onslaught connected ‘hatred’ dispersed by absorption and captious media.

A Slovak tribunal has convicted the pensioner who changeable Prime Minister Robert Fico past twelvemonth of a “terror attack” and sentenced him to 21 years successful prison.

The Specialised Criminal Court successful Banska Bystrica convicted and sentenced 72-year-old Juraj Cintula connected Tuesday, saying helium had acted “with a information to halt a due functioning of the government” successful a “particularly serious” crime.

Cintula, a writer from Levice successful occidental Slovakia, shot Fico 4 times astatine adjacent range connected May 15, 2024 arsenic the premier near a authorities gathering successful cardinal Slovakia.

He aboriginal claimed helium was driven by “moral despair”. Fico was near earnestly wounded but returned to enactment 2 months later.

The shooting and consequent proceedings person shaken the tiny NATO-member country.

Now serving his 4th word arsenic premier minister, Fico has repeatedly accused the wide absorption and media of fuelling the assassination attempt, without presenting evidence.

Prosecutors primitively charged Cintula with premeditated murder, but they aboriginal reclassified the shooting arsenic a “terror attack”, citing his governmental motivation.

Critics person said that since the shooting, the populist Fico has go progressively divisive, accelerating his alignment of Slovakia’s overseas argumentation with Russia, expanding disapproval of the European Union, and implementing authoritarian and hardline blimpish policy.

‘Most apt appeal’

“It was worthy it,” section media quoted Cintula arsenic shouting arsenic helium near tribunal earlier this period aft giving his closing proceedings statement.

After the shooting, Cintula had told constabulary helium wanted to protestation against steps taken by Fico’s government, including the halting of subject assistance to war-ravaged Ukraine, according to a leaked video.

He claimed helium had sought to hurt, but not kill, the premier minister.

In his last proceedings statement, a visibly affectional Cintula told the tribunal helium had been flooded with “moral despair”, accusing the premier curate of being “drunk with power” and making “irrational decisions that harm this country”.

He called his defence “a manifesto … for each those who consciousness that the arrogance of power, corruption and lies has nary spot successful the state wherever our children volition turn up”.

“The premier … embodied years of accumulated vexation and despair,” Cintula said.

Cintula’s lawyer, Namir Alyasry, told reporters aft the proceeding that helium would “most apt appeal” the verdict.

Juraj Cintula (R) listens to his lawyer, Namir Alyasry, aft the verdict, October 21, 2025 [Radovan Stoklasa/Reuters]

The premier curate was not contiguous astatine the proceedings and did not instantly remark connected the verdict.

He antecedently said helium forgave the attacker, whom helium described arsenic simply a “messenger of evil and governmental hatred” developed by the “politically unsuccessful and frustrated opposition”.

Since his instrumentality to bureau successful 2023, Fico’s authorities has launched a crackdown connected nonprofit organisations, taste institutions and immoderate media outlets it deems “hostile”, prompting wide protests.

Fico has besides angered the absorption by calling for an extremity to Slovakia’s enactment for Ukraine, criticising EU sanctions targeting Russia and saying helium would not let Ukraine to articulation NATO.

Last month, the Slovak parliament approved a law amendment to bounds the rights of same-sex couples arsenic portion of a sweeping alteration that besides states that nationalist instrumentality takes precedence implicit EU law.