Slovakia's Supreme Court upholds 21-year sentence for PM Fico's attacker

The 2024 attack, which ⁠pointed to deep political polarisation in the central European country ⁠of 5.4 ⁠million people, left Fico in a critical condition but he later recovered and returned to work.

Slovakia's Supreme Court upheld ​on Wednesday a 21-year ​jail sentence for ‌a man ​who shot at Prime Minister Robert Fico two years ago, rejecting his ‌appeal against terrorism charges, Slovak media reported. A Slovak court last October ruled that Juraj Cintula, now 73, was guilty of terrorism ‌charges for shooting at Fico five times from a ‌close distance while the prime minister greeted a crowd in a central Slovak town in May 2024.

"The planning of the attack, ⁠combined with ​the knowledge that ⁠he was attacking the prime minister, indicates that he must have ⁠been aware of the negative effect on the functioning of government ​power," online news website Dennik N quoted Judge Petr ⁠Kana as saying in the court's justification. The Supreme Court's verdict is ⁠final, ​TASR news agency said.

The court did not reply to a request for comment. The 2024 attack, which ⁠pointed to deep political polarisation in the central European country ⁠of 5.4 ⁠million people, left Fico in a critical condition but he later recovered and returned to work.