Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is still in a “serious condition” after the attack he suffered yesterday after leaving a meeting. The 59-year-old leader underwent a five-hour operation at Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, where he was taken by helicopter.
The person detained and suspected of opening fire is a 71-year-old man from the center of the country, identified by Slovak media as a local writer. He was charged Thursday with “attempted premeditated murder.”
Founder of a literary club
“I think I can confirm it, yes,” replied Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok to journalists who questioned him about the identity of the shooter, who according to media reports is one of the founders of the Duha literary club ( rainbow), in the town of Levice.
The press adds that he is the author of several collections of poetry and that he is a member of the official association of Slovak writers. The association confirmed on Facebook that he had been a member since 2015, and that if the facts were confirmed “the membership of this despicable person would be immediately canceled”.
The suspect’s son told news site aktuality.sk that his father had a legally registered firearm. Asked about his father’s feelings about Robert Fico, he replied, “I’ll tell you one thing: He didn’t vote for him.” That’s all I can say “.
“A political attack”
Several statements from the suspect are available on social networks. In a video posted online eight years ago, he said: “The world is full of violence and guns. People seem to be going crazy.”
He also claimed to have founded a “Movement Against Violence” in Levice, which defines itself on its Facebook page as “an emerging political party whose objective is to prevent the spread of violence in society”.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok spoke of an attack “motivated by political considerations”. “He was a lone wolf” who decided to take action “after the results of the presidential election, with which he was unhappy,” he said.
The Slovak president-elect called on Thursday to “suspend” the June European campaign in a country undermined by tensions, the day after an attack described as “political”.