Robert Fico shooting: Slovak police charge 71-year-old poet over assassination attempt

Slovakian police on Thursday charged Juraj Cintula, a 71-year-old former security guard, with attempted murder in the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The suspect is accused of attacking Fico in Handlová, a town in central Slovakia, where the Slovak government held a meeting on Wednesday. Fico’s condition is “stable, but very serious” after the assassination attempt, according to the director of Banská Bystrica hospital where the prime minister is being treated.

If found guilty, Cintula could face up to 25 years in prison or life imprisonment, local media have reported.

According to Slovak television, Cintula told police that he had planned the attack a few days before, but did not intend to kill Fico.

Although the motive for the attempted assassination is unclear, Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the attack was “politically motivated” and that the “perpetrator’s decision was born closely after the presidential election.”

Cintula is a former security guard, poet and a member of the Slovak Society of Writers.