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On Wednesday afternoon, a person shot Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico a number of occasions, critically wounding him. Fico was rushed to hospital and underwent surgical operations for a number of hours: no official info on the result of the operations has but been launched, however round 10 pm the deputy prime minister of Slovakia, Tomáš Taraba, he mentioned on the BBC that Fico is now not in crucial situation and “will survive”.
The assault was carried out after leaving a gathering between members of the Slovak authorities within the city of Handlová, 180 kilometers north-east of the capital Bratislava. Immediately after the assault, Fico was loaded right into a automotive by brokers of his safety service and was transported by helicopter to the hospital in Banská Bystrica, about thirty kilometers from Handlová.
The man suspected of getting shot him was arrested instantly after the assault: there may be nonetheless no sure info on his id and it’s not even recognized if different individuals have been concerned. Interior Minister Matus Sutaj-Eštok he mentioned that, in keeping with at the moment obtainable info, the assault was politically motivated.
At a press convention held at Banská Bystrica hospital round 8pm, Slovakian Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák he defined that the prime minister was within the working room and had described the scenario as “very sophisticated”. Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková He mentioned that Fico was “preventing for his life”, and had outlined Wednesday’s assault as “the results of malice and absolute human hatred. An assault on democracy.”
In the video beneath, shot instantly after the assault and launched by the Slovak media, Fico is seen being loaded into an escort automotive, whereas the alleged attacker is stopped.
Fico was injured in entrance of the House of Culture, a theater and convention middle within the middle of Handlová. He was on the street in entrance of the constructing to greet his supporters when a kind of current shot him. Some witnesses interviewed by the Slovak media mentioned they heard “three or 4” pictures, and that Fico fell to the bottom wounded, earlier than being instantly loaded into the automotive. According to the emergency groups who rescued him, he was aware and talking throughout his transport to the hospital.
Shortly after the assault, the Slovak prime minister’s official Facebook web page posted a communicated which acknowledged that he had “been hit a number of occasions” and was “at risk of shedding his life”. Fico was transported by helicopter to the closest hospital as a result of the severity of his situation required emergency surgical procedure and there was no time to go to Bratislava.
Warning: the pictures could also be surprising
Robert Fico is 59 years outdated and the chief of Smer (which implies “route” in Slovak), a left-wing populist get together, recognized amongst different issues for its pro-Russian positions. He has been prime minister of Slovakia since final October, when his get together received the legislative elections. The present one is the fourth authorities led by Fico, who had already been prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and in two governments from 2012 to 2018. He and his get together have been concerned in a number of scandals lately and have been repeatedly accused of corruption .
The man suspected after being stopped by police in Handlová, May 15 (REUTERS/ Radovan Stoklasa)
According to Slovak media, the arrested man was 71 years outdated, labored as a safety guard in a shopping mall and was repeatedly in possession of the weapon. Slovak TV Awning he mentioned who can be a author, initially from Levice, about fifty kilometers from Handlová, and who a couple of weeks in the past had criticized Fico’s authorities, and specifically his proposal to abolish Slovakia Television and Radio (STVR), the general public broadcaster of the nation.
Some officers put Fico in a automotive, whereas others cease the person suspected of capturing. Handlová, May 15 (REUTERS/ Radovan Stoklasa)
Immediately after the assault, the outgoing president Zuzana Čaputová, who from June will likely be changed by the candidate supported by Fico’s pro-Russian authorities, Peter Pellegrini, mentioned she was “disconcerted” by the assault, which she outlined as “brutal and ruthless”. Pellegrini as an alternative he described the occasion as an unprecedented menace to Slovak democracy. The National Council, the Slovak parliament, has suspended actions till May twenty first and on the similar time has strengthened safety measures.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives on the hospital in Banská Bystrica (Jan Kroslak/TASR by way of AP)
Among the authorities who’ve expressed solidarity with Fico are Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, his ally, and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. In the meantime, after the information of the assault unfold within the Slovakian parliament there have been mutual accusations between the events that help the federal government and the opposition.
– Read additionally: Who is Robert Fico