Slovak PM Robert Fico fights for life after assassination attempt

BALKAN FLASHBACK SHADES OF WWI

Paul Kirby and Laura Gozzi - BBC News
Wed, May 15, 2024 

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot in a small town north-east of Bratislava.

On Wednesday evening Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said Mr Fico had been in surgery for over three hours and that the situation was "bad".

Slovak politicians including the president have called the shooting an "attack on democracy".

The alleged assailant was detained at the scene but has not yet been formally identified by the authorities.

Earlier on Wednesday evening Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said Mr Fico had been in surgery for over three hours and that the situation was "bad".

The attack happened at about 14:30 (12:30 GMT) in Handlova, about 180km (112 miles) from the capital Bratislava, as Mr Fico greeted people in front of a cultural community centre where a government meeting had been held.

Footage showed a man raising a gun and firing five times at the prime minister before being subdued by bodyguards while other members of Mr Fico's security detail took the prime minister into his car.

He was airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital before being flown to another hospital in Banska Bystrica, east of Handlova.

Later on Wednesday Slovakia's Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC that he believed Mr Fico's procedure in hospital had gone well.

"I guess in the end he will survive," Mr Taraba said, adding: "He's not in a life threatening situation at this moment."

At a press conference on Wednesday, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said Mr Fico had been shot in the stomach.

"Initial information clearly points to political motivation," he added.

Unconfirmed local media reports said the suspect was a 71-year-old writer and political activist.

Mr Fico was visiting the town of Handlova when he was attacked [Reuters]

Slovakia's outgoing president Zuzana Caputova said something "so serious had happened that we can't even realise it yet".

"The hateful rhetoric we witness in society leads to hateful acts," she added.

Mr Kalinak and Mr Estok blamed the spread of hate speech on social media for the shooting and urged citizens not to "respond to hate with hate".

Mr Estok accused the media of contributing to the climate that led to Mr Fico's shooting, telling a press conference: "Many of you were those who were sowing this hatred."

He added that protection would be provided to constitutional officials as well as other groups who could be subject to similar attacks, including journalists and public figures.

A man was immediately detained by guards and bystanders in Handlova [Reuters]

Mr Fico, 59, returned to power in Slovakia after elections last September, at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition.

His first few months as prime minister have proved highly contentious politically. In January he halted military aid to Ukraine and last month pushed through plans to abolish public broadcaster RTVS.

Thousands of Slovaks have protested against the proposed reform of the public broadcaster in recent weeks. However, a planned opposition-led demonstration was called off on Wednesday as news of the shooting emerged.

Parliament was sitting at the time of the attack and Slovak media reported that a party colleague of Mr Fico's shouted at opposition MPs, accusing them of stoking the attack.

President-elect Peter Pellegrini, who is a political ally of Mr Fico's, said he was horrified to hear of the attack and also blamed the shooting on recent political divisions.

Describing the attack as an "unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy" he said people did not have to agree on everything, but there were ways to express disagreement democratically and legally.

Wold leaders have also condemned the attack on Mr Fico. US President Joe Biden condemned the "horrific act of violence" and said the US embassy was in "close touch" with the Slovakian government and was "ready to assist".

Russian President Vladimir Putin said there could "be no justification for this monstrous crime". European Council President Charles Michel said "nothing can ever justify violence or such attacks".

Slovak PM shooting suspect named as 71-year-old writer

AFP
Wed, 15 May 2024 

A suspect detained at the scene after Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times is reported to be a 71-year-old writer (-)


A suspect detained for shooting Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico is a 71-year-old writer from the centre of the European nation, the interior minister said Wednesday, after media identified the man.

"I think I can confirm this, yes," Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters when asked about reports identifying the man detained at the scene of the shooting in the town of Handlova.

A grey haired suspect was seen being handcuffed on the ground just after Fico was shot several times after a government meeting in Handlova. Officials said late Wednesday that Fico, a populist prime minister, was fighting for his life.


Media reports said the suspect was a founder of the DUHA (Rainbow) Literary Club and was from the town of Levice.

The reports, which also named him, said he has written three poetry collections and is a member of the official Association of Slovak Writers.

The association confirmed on Facebook that the man had been a member since 2015, adding that if his identity as the suspected shooter was confirmed "the membership of this despicable person will be immediately cancelled".

The suspect's son told Slovak news site aktuality.sk that he had "absolutely no idea what father was thinking, what he was planning, why it happened".

He said his father was a legally registered gun owner.

When asked if he felt any hatred toward Fico, the son said: "I'll tell you this: he didn't vote for him. That's all I can say about it."

Vlasta Kollarova, head of a local library in the man's hometown told Dennik N daily: "He was rebellious when he was young, but not aggressive".

Several political statements by the man, who AFP has chosen not to name, could be found on social media.

"The world is full of violence and weapons. People seem to be going crazy," he said in a video eight years ago posted online.

In the video, he also spoke about concern over immigration and "hatred and extremism" and said European governments "have no alternative to this chaos".

He also said in the video that he had founded a "Movement Against Violence" in Levice.

The movement, which also has its Facebook page, defines itself as "an emerging political party whose goal is to prevent the spread of violence in society. To prevent war in Europe and the spread of hatred."

juh/dt/tw

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico in life-threatening condition after being shot multiple times

Brad Dress
Wed, May 15, 2024 


Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico is “life-threatening condition” after being shot Wednesday after a meeting in the town of Handlova, according to his Facebook page.

Fico was shot after holding a Cabinet meeting in the Trenčín region of central Slovakia, according to the Slovak news agency TASR.

A post on Fico’s Facebook account said the prime minister was in “life-threatening condition,” and he was transported to the hospital via helicopter.

“The next few hours will decide,” the post reads.

Robert Kaliňák, Slovakia’s minister of defense, said in a press conference that Fico’s surgery had lasted for nearly four hours and his medical condition was “really very complex.”

“We are singularly focused on the health of Robert Fico. And we are hoping he will be strong enough to pull through,” Kaliňák said, per CNN.

An unknown assailant fired at Fico outside the house where the meeting had been held while the prime minister was chatting with supporters, according to the English language newspaper The Slovak Spectator, which reported multiple gunshots before he fell to the ground.

Slovak media outlet Denník N reported that a 71-year-old man was detained in connection with the shooting and that he had used a legally purchased gun.

Fico is a pro-Russian leader who won power for a fourth time in parliament last October.

In April, Peter Pellegrini, a close ally of his, won the presidency, further cementing his party’s grip on power and the push toward more pro-Russia views in Slovakia, heightening hostility with Western nations.

Slovakian Minister of the Interior Matúš Šutaj Eštok said at a press conference that authorities are still investigating the shooting and the suspect and more updates would come Thursday.

“But from what we know right now this was politically motivated,” he said. “And it took place very shortly after the presidential election.

Slovak Premier Fighting for Life After Assassination Attempt

Daniel Hornak and Andrea Dudik
Wed, May 15, 2024 



(Bloomberg) -- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was being treated for “life-threatening” injuries after being shot in the first assassination attempt on a European leader in more than two decades.

Fico, 59, was attacked after a government meeting in the town of Handlova some 165 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of the capital Bratislava. The premier was transferred to a hospital in the nearby city of Banska Bystrica, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.

The dominant political figure in the eastern European nation of 5.4 million since the fall of communism, Fico returned to power last year as a force of opposition to European Union institutions in Brussels. His Russia-friendly stance has put him at odds with partners, threatening to undermine EU unity in helping Ukraine.

The alleged attacker, identified by Sme newspaper as a 71-year-old man, was apprehended and taken into custody by police, President Zuzana Caputova told reporters in Bratislava.

Fico was walking in a crowd of people when shots were fired at him, newspaper Dennik N reported. Eyewitnesses heard multiple shots ring out as the prime minister fell to the ground, after which he was lifted by security guards, loaded into a car and driven away, the newspaper said.

Hateful Rhetoric

Caputova, the outgoing head of state and one of Fico’s chief critics in the country, condemned what she described as a “brutal and reckless attack” on the prime minister.

“I am shocked,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I wish Robert Fico every strength to recover from the attack at this critical time.” Hateful rhetoric leads to “hateful actions,” she told reporters later.

Read more: Who Is Robert Fico, Slovak Leader Hit in Shooting?: QuickTake

It was the first shooting of a European head of state or government since the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in March 2003. The pro-European reformer who took a stand against organized crime was killed after being gunned down in central Belgrade.

Slovakia’s parliament in Bratislava suspended its session as leaders across the political spectrum rebuked the assault, the first of its kind in the nation’s history. Fico’s allies seized on the attack to accuse the opposition of inflaming division in the country.

A polarizing figure, Fico made a political comeback last year after resigning in disgrace in 2018 in response to mass demonstrations over the killing of an investigative reporter probing corruption in Slovakia.

A close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Fico has been accused of adopting Orban’s blueprint for eroding independent institutions to shore up his power. The Hungarian leader said he was “deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend,” according to a post on social media platform X.

Since his return to power, Fico has drawn protests nationwide for rewriting the criminal code and scrapping a special prosecutor’s office. Last month, he lashed out at the country’s media for what he called hostility to the government as his cabinet proposed tighter controls over public television and radio.

Still, Western leaders were united in their condemnation of political violence against a head of government in an EU member state. President Joe Biden condemned the “horrific act of violence.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a “cowardly attack.

“Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

Gun ownership isn’t common in Slovakia and restrictions on obtaining weapons are tight. Still, the country is no stranger to gun violence. In the 1990s, after the country emerged from the split up of Czechoslovakia, it grappled with a spate of mafia-style killings – including a 1999 shooting at a restaurant in which 10 men were killed.

The investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak, was also gunned down at his home with his fiancee in 2018.

In Handlova, Fico’s cabinet approved a plan to build a nuclear reactor, joining a push across the European Union’s east to expand atomic energy production.

Shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico sends shockwaves across Europe

The Associated Press
Wed, May 15, 2024 




Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, right, talks to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year. Having previously served twice as prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, the 59-year-old's third term made him the longest-serving head of government in Slovakia’s history. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)

The shooting Wednesday of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the town of Handlova following a political event sent shockwaves across Europe three weeks before EU parliament elections are scheduled to be held.

Leaders from across the political divide denounced the apparent assassination attempt against the populist, pro-Russian leader, calling it an attack on democracy.

Here’s what European leaders and others are saying:

“What has happened is something that we cannot seem to realize because we cannot comprehend it. A physical attack on the prime minister is, first of all, an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy. Any violence is unacceptable. Hateful rhetoric we’ve been witnessing in society leads to hateful actions. Please let’s stop it.” – Slovak President Zuzana Caputova, Fico’s political rival, in a televised statement.

—-

“An assassination attempt on one of the highest constitutional officials is an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy. If we express different political opinions with guns in the squares, and not in polling stations, we endanger everything we have built together in 31 years of Slovak sovereignty." – Slovak President-elect Peter Pellegrini.

—-

“We strongly condemn this act of violence against our neighboring partner state’s head of government. Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere.” -- Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine on social media.

—-

“Shocked and appalled by the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico. I wish him strength for a speedy recovery.” — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

—-

“I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery! God bless him and his country!” -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

—-

“I am alarmed to hear reports of an attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Jill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia. We condemn this horrific act of violence. Our embassy is in close touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist.” -- US President Joe Biden in a statement.

—-

“Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good.” – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

—-

“Shots fired at Robert are shots at freedom and democracy… there can be no room for violence in politics.” Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.

Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico shot multiple times, in 'life-threatening condition'
Greg Norman
Wed, May 15, 2024 

A suspect has been taken into custody Wednesday after Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition."

The shooting happened in Handlova, about 90 miles northeast of the capital of Bratislava.

A statement on Fico's Facebook page says he has "been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition." He is expected to receive a medical procedure, it added, noting that "the next few hours will decide."

The Associated Press reported that Defense Minister Robert Kalina told reporters outside the hospital that medical teams were still fighting to save Fico's life.

Kalina said an operation on Fico was not yet complete and described his condition as "extraordinarily serious."

"Utterly shocked by today's brutal attack on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, which I condemn in strongest possible terms," Slovakia President Zuzana Čaputová wrote on X.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

THOUSANDS RALLY IN SLOVAKIA TO PROTEST OVERHAUL OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING

A person is detained following the shooting of Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico in Handlova, on Wednesday, May 15.

President Biden condemned the attack – calling it a "horrific act of violence" – and said "Jill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia. "

In the wake of the shooting, Slovakia’s major opposition parties, Progressive Slovakia and Freedom and Solidarity, canceled a planned protest against a controversial government plan to overhaul public broadcasting that they say would give the government full control of public radio and television.

"We absolutely and strongly condemn violence and today's shooting of Premier Robert Fico," said Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Simecka. "At the same time we call on all politicians to refrain from any expressions and steps which could contribute to further increasing the tension."

Slovakia, a country of 5.5 million people that shares a border with Ukraine, also has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia invaded in February 2022, donating arms and opening its borders for refugees fleeing the war.

But Fico has stopped military aid. He also opposes European Union sanctions on Russia and wants to block Ukraine from joining NATO, according to The Associated Press.

A person is seen being taken into custody Wednesday at the scene of the shooting in Handlova, Slovakia.

Fico, a third-time premier, and his leftist Smer, or Direction, party, won Slovakia’s Sept. 30 parliamentary elections, staging a political comeback after campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-American message.

Critics are worried Slovakia under Fico will abandon the country’s pro-Western course and follow the direction of Hungary under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the AP reports.

Orban wrote on X following the shooting that he was "deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend" and that he is praying for a quick recovery.

In his own statement, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said "We strongly condemn this act of violence against our neighboring partner state's head of government" and that "Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere. "

Images taken from the area where the shooting happened Wednesday showed a male individual being detained by authorities and Fico being rushed into a vehicle. The motive for the shooting is unclear.

SLOVAKIA'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING OVERHAUL ALLOWS GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL MEDIA, CRITICS SAY

Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in Handlova.

The Government Office of the Slovak Republic did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Fico's government won a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament in November last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

What we know about Slovak PM assassination attempt

AFP
Wed, May 15, 2024 

Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times by a gunman after a government meeting 


Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered life-threatening injuries when he was shot multiple times on Wednesday. Here is what we know about the incident:

What happened?

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, a 59-year-old four-time premier who came back to power after his Smer-SD party won a general election last year, chaired a government meeting in the central town of Handlova. Shots were fired after the meeting.

"There was an assassination attempt on Robert Fico. He was shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition," said a statement on Fico's official Facebook page.

Daniel Vrazda, a journalist with Dennik N newspaper who was covering the event, said he heard four shots and saw Fico on the ground and then being carried away.

Video footage obtained by AFPTV showed two guards carrying Fico by his arms while other guards opened the doors to a black Mercedes limousine that sped away.

Security personnel apprehended a man in jeans who was lying on the ground in handcuffs, the video showed.

Fico was later transported by a helicopter to hospital in Banska Bystrica. Slovak public television RTVS showed images of a stretcher surrounded by security guards being wheeled into a hospital.

What was the official response?

Slovak President Zuzana Caputova expressed shock at the attack on her political opponent and spoke out against what she called a "brutal and reckless attack."

Fico's close ally, Peter Pellegrini, who is to succeed Caputova in June, has also condemned the "assassination attempt".

"I am horrified by where the hatred towards another political opinion can lead," Pellegrini said on X (formerly Twitter).

The parliament session in Bratislava was suspended following the attack and security measures have been bolstered.

The Slovak opposition called off a rally planned for Wednesday against government plans to reform the public broadcaster, which have been slammed by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) media watchdog.

Reactions from leaders

World leaders quickly condemned the attack.

"Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family," said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere," said Zelensky.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the shooting a "heinous crime".

"I know Robert Fico to be a courageous and strong-spirited man. I very much hope that these qualities will help him to withstand this difficult situation," Putin said in a statement.