Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 26, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on Google
Slovak authorities seek terrorism charges against the man who shot PM Fico, intensifying political tensions in Slovakia.
(Reuters) - Investigators have called for terrorism charges to be brought against a man suspected of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the country's general prosecutor said on Wednesday, after the completion of their probe.
The suspect, who was 71 at the time of the incident last May, shot Fico four times at close range in the abdomen, leaving him in a critical condition. Fico, 60, four-times prime minister, later recovered and returned to work months later.
The attacker, identified by prosecutors as Juraj C., has said he aimed to hurt, not kill Fico, and disagreed with his policies, court documents show.
The prosecutor for the serious crimes department will decide on the next steps in the case after reviewing the investigation, the general prosecutor, Maros Zilinka, said on Facebook, adding that the investigation documents ran to more than 6,000 pages.
The attempted assassination deepened political tensions in Slovakia, a European Union member state, with Fico's leftist-nationalist government stepping up criticism of its liberal opponents.
Since taking power in 2023, Fico has worried critics and observers with changes to criminal codes, a revamp of the public broadcaster and ending Slovakia's military aid for Ukraine as it fights a Russian invasion.
Fico has faced large protests since January over fears that his foreign policy has become too favourable to Russia.
The prime minister has accused activists and the pro-Western opposition of seeking to whip up protests and occupy government buildings. The opposition and activists deny the accusations.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Investigators have called for terrorism charges to be brought against the man suspected of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Fico was shot four times in the abdomen, leaving him in critical condition, but he later recovered.
The attacker, identified as Juraj C., stated that he aimed to hurt, not kill Fico, and disagreed with his policies.
The attempted assassination deepened political tensions, with Fico's government increasing criticism of its liberal opponents.
Since taking power in 2023, Fico has made changes to criminal codes, revamped the public broadcaster, and ended Slovakia's military aid for Ukraine.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
