After the assassination attempt Robert Fico His deputy Tomas Taraba commented on the health of the Slovak Prime Minister. “As far as I know, the operation went well – and I think he will survive in the end,” Taraba told the BBC late last night. Fico is currently not in a life-threatening situation.
Defense Minister Robert Kalinak had said hours earlier that Fico’s condition is extremely serious. He is currently undergoing surgery. Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok also spoke of a life-threatening situation.
The assassination attempt has According to the government’s assessment, a “political motive”. Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said this to journalists on Wednesday evening at the clinic in Banska Bystrica where Fico was operated on.
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Fico was in the town of Handlova after a cabinet meeting been shot. By helicopter He was then flown to a hospital in Banska Bystrica. A hospital spokesman told Reuters that Fico was was conscious when he arrived at the hospital.
Eyewitnesses reported to the TV news channel TA3 that they were in front of the cultural center in Handlova At least four shots were heard when Fico went outside after the cabinet meetingto mingle with the public and shake hands. Five shots can be heard in a video on social media.
The Slovakian Interior Minister confirmed media reports on Wednesday evening Identity of the suspected assassin confirmed. When asked whether it is one 71 year old writer from the center of Slovakia, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said on Wednesday: “I think I can confirm that, yes.”
According to media reports, the man is said to be come from the town of Levice around 150 kilometers east of Bratislava and be the founder of a literature club. Accordingly, he is also a member of the official Slovakian Writers’ Association, which they later confirmed on the online service Facebook. If it is confirmed that this is the suspected attacker, the membership of “this despicable person” will be terminated.
© dpa/Radovan Stoklasa
Interior Minister Sutaj Estok quit increased police protection for politicians, but also journalists. At the same time, he called on the media, politicians from all camps and the public to stop “incitement against political opponents on social media”. President Zuzana Caputova had previously made similar statements.
Fico had a few days ago accused the liberal opposition of creating a climate of hostility against the government. It cannot be ruled out that in such a climate at some point an act of violence occurs. The deputy leader of Fico’s Smer party, Lubos Blaha, had previously canceled the ongoing parliamentary debate because of the news.
“Just before I wanted to shake his hand, I heard four shots. Robert fell to the floor“, said a man on the square in front of the House of Culture in Handlova on the public broadcaster RTVS on Wednesday. A cabinet meeting had previously taken place there. He is in shock. “That’s something terrible, that was Shots from behind“, he added. A woman told the station about the shooter: “The man was standing there from the start. (…) He just waited.”
The city of Handlova with almost 20,000 inhabitants is located about 150 kilometers northeast of the capital Bratislava. Slovakia borders Ukraine and is a member of the EU and NATO. (dpa, AFP, Reuters)