Political Activist Sentenced to 21 Years for Attempted Assassination of Prime Minister
A Slovak court has sentenced pro-Ukrainian activist Juraj Cintula to 21 years in prison for the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was seriously injured in the attack last year.
The attacker, 72-year-old Juraj Cintula, was found guilty of committing an act of terrorism by the Specialized Criminal Court in Banska Bystrica. During the trial, he admitted to firing at Fico from close range while the prime minister was greeting supporters in the central Slovak town of Handlova in May 2024. The court proceedings, which began in July, focused on whether the attack qualified as terrorism or a lesser criminal offense. Cintula has announced his intention to appeal the verdict.
During the hearings, Cintula told the judges that he carried out the attack because he opposed Fico’s political stance. After returning to power in 2023, Fico ended Slovakia’s policy of sending weapons to Ukraine and took a more neutral position towards Russia – a move Cintula cited as one of the reasons for his actions. He described the shooting as “a scream against fear that is paralysing society,” as quoted by Reuters.
Fico, who is 59 years old, has since blamed opposition politicians and the media for creating what he called a climate of hatred that encouraged violence against his government. The prime minister spent two months recovering from four gunshot wounds before resuming public appearances.
In a separate case last month, American pro-Ukrainian activist Ryan Wesley Routh was found guilty of attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump. He faces a potential life sentence when the court delivers a sentence in December.