The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was critically injured in an assassination try. He was shot 5 instances on the road. The Interior Minister speaks of a political motive.
The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was critically injured in an assassination try with a firearm. The 59-year-old was flown to a hospital by helicopter, the Slovak authorities’s workplace mentioned. In the night, Defense Minister Robert Kalinak mentioned at a press convention that Fico was nonetheless present process surgical procedure. His situation continues to be very dangerous.
The assault occurred round 2:45 p.m. within the city of Handlova, round 150 kilometers northeast of the capital Bratislava. A reporter from the day by day newspaper “Dennik N” reported that rescue staff carried Fico right into a automotive after he was shot. Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok mentioned a suspect was taken into custody on the scene. The minister assumes there was a political motivation for the crime.
Eyewitness: Perpetrator was ready for Fico
Eyewitnesses described their observations of the crime: “Shortly earlier than I needed to shake his hand, I heard 4 photographs. Robert fell to the ground,” a person informed the Slovakian broadcaster RTVS. The perpetrator shot from behind. A girl informed the general public broadcaster that the later perpetrator had been ready for Fico for some time.
When Fico got here out of a home and needed to shake palms with folks ready there, the primary shot hit him within the chest, different witnesses reported to the TA3 station. An RTVS reporter who was capable of see the perpetrator up shut after the arrest described him as an older man. He appeared disoriented. According to TA3, the perpetrator is Juraj C., a former worker of a personal safety service. This was not initially formally confirmed.
Security forces detain the suspected perpetrator after the assault.
European politicians react in horror
The assault induced worldwide consternation. On Platform X, Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke of a “cowardly assault” that shocked him enormously. “Violence will need to have no place in European politics,” continued Scholz. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the assault on X as “abhorrent.” Such acts of violence would undermine democracy, wrote von der Leyen.
US President Joe Biden additionally commented on the assault. He condemned the “horrible act of violence.” “Our ideas are together with his household and the Slovak folks,” the White House mentioned. Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned: “I do know Robert Fico as a brave and strong-willed man. I very a lot hope that these qualities will assist him get by this troublesome state of affairs.”
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and different prime European politicians additionally reacted with shock to the assault. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X: “Robert, my ideas are with you at this very troublesome second.”
Parliament session interrupted
The deputy speaker of the Slovak parliament, Lubos Blaha, confirmed the incident throughout a session within the House of Representatives, which was then adjourned indefinitely, the TASR information company reported.
Fico’s SMER occasion gained the parliamentary elections on the finish of September 2023 with a Russia-friendly program. Among different issues, he had introduced that he didn’t need to provide “any extra cartridges” of weapons to Ukraine. The left-wing populist was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018.
Fico’s course in criticism
Critics concern that Slovakia underneath Fico might abandon its pro-Western course and take a cue from Hungary and its populist prime minister Viktor Orban. Recently there have been repeated protests in Slovakia towards Fico’s politics. The local weather between the federal government and the opposition is taken into account toxic.
In the wake of the assault, the biggest opposition events – Progressive Slovakia and the Freedom and Solidarity Party – canceled a deliberate demonstration towards the federal government’s controversial reform of public broadcasting. Politicians from each events condemned the assault, together with President Zuzana Caputova. “Any violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric now we have witnessed in society results in hateful actions,” Caputova mentioned in a televised deal with.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok referred to as for moderation in view of the crime. The capturing was an “assassination on democracy.” It is now the frequent job of everybody in Slovakia to right away cease the unfold of political hatred. There is at the moment no details about the shooter.
Marianne Allweiss, ARD Prague, tagesschau, May 15, 2024 3:50 p.m