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Slovakia’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and 21-year prison sentence imposed on Juraj Cintula for attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Associated Press reported. The court said the decision is final, confirming the lower court’s ruling that treated the attack as a terrorist act.
The sentence stems from an attack on May 15, 2024, when Cintula opened fire on Fico as the prime minister greeted supporters after a government meeting in the town of Handlová. Handlová lies about 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of Bratislava, according to the court-reporting account.
Cintula, 73, was arrested immediately after the shooting and remanded in custody. After the attack, he contested how authorities characterized his actions, while accepting that he intended to harm Fico, the report said.
In his account, Cintula said his motive for the shooting was that he disagreed with government policies, while he rejected the accusation of being a “terrorist.” He told the court he wanted to harm Fico but not to kill him, the Associated Press reported.
The report also said Cintula listed specific policy issues he said he opposed. Those included the government’s cancellation of a special prosecution office dealing with corruption and the end of military help for Ukraine.
Cintula was sentenced on Oct. 21 and appealed the ruling. Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision affirmed that sentence, leaving him to serve the 21-year term.
Fico was shot in the abdomen and required intensive medical care, the report said. He underwent a five-hour surgery and later had an additional two-hour operation two days afterward, and he has since recovered.
The Associated Press described Fico as divisive since returning to power in 2023, with pro-Russian and other policies drawing protests.