The man who critically injured Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday was a fierce critic of the latter’s decision to stop arms shipments to Ukraine, Interior Minister Matuss Sutaj Estok has said.
Fico was shot at point-blank range several times on Wednesday as he greeted supporters in the small town of Handlova.
The assailant was immediately arrested and the prime minister was rushed to a hospital in serious condition.
Local authorities said earlier that there was a “clear political motivation” behind the attack.
Media reports identified the attacker as Juraj Cintula, 71, said to be the founder of the Slovak Association of Writers and a supporter of the opposition Progressive Slovakia party.
On Tuesday, Sutaj Estok confirmed earlier media reports that “the perpetrator is charged with the premeditated crime of attempted murder” and stressed that this was “a politically motivated act.”
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