Questions and answers: Important questions about the assassination attempt on Fico – and the answers

Questions and answers: Important questions about the assassination attempt on Fico – and the answers

The Slovakian Prime Minister Fico is gunned down by a pensioner in the small town of Handlova. After a long operation, his condition is stable but still serious. What was the perpetrator’s motive?

The attack on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico shocked Slovakia and caused international outrage. Three important questions and answers:

What happened?

The attack happened on Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. Fico was in the small town of Handlova, where a cabinet meeting had taken place. Supporters had gathered outside the meeting venue. As Fico approached the people to greet them, shots were fired. A video from the local television station RTV Prievidza shows a man pushing against the barrier and shooting at the Prime Minister from close range. Four of the five shots hit the politician.

Shortly before he wanted to shake his hand, he heard shots, an eyewitness told the public broadcaster RTVS. “Robert fell to the floor,” he continued. He is in shock. “This is something terrible, these were shots from behind,” he added. A woman told the station about the shooter: “The man stood there from the start. (…) He just waited.”

The portal of the newspaper “Dennik N” published video footage showing bodyguards picking up Fico, who had fallen to the ground after the shots, and carrying him in a crumpled position to his limousine. There they put him in the back seat. As the car speeds away at full speed, the attacker is arrested by police officers.

How is Fico?

After the attack, 59-year-old Fico was flown to Banska Bystrica, where he underwent a five-hour emergency operation at the FD Roosevelt University Hospital. A CT scan had previously been carried out, reported hospital director Miriam Lapunikova. Two teams of doctors were involved in the operation. “The patient had multiple gunshot wounds,” Lapunikova said. The consequences of these injuries could make recovery difficult.

Defense Minister Robert Kalinak, who is also deputy head of government, later announced: “The doctors have managed to stabilize the condition.” But Fico is not yet out of danger. The injuries are very serious. The politician was hit by four bullets. “I can’t say that we have won yet,” said Fico’s close confidante, who is considered a possible crown prince. The hospital imposed an information blackout. Media reported that staff had to hand over their cell phones.

During the night, media reported that Fico had regained consciousness after the operation. One of the deputy heads of government, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba, told the BBC that, as far as he knew, the operation went well. Fico had undergone heart surgery during a previous term as premier in 2016, but had not had any health problems since then.

What motives did the perpetrator have?

According to the Slovakian Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok, the perpetrator was a 71-year-old pensioner from the small town of Levice. An initial interrogation revealed that he had a “clearly political motive”. He rejects government policy. It is a “lone wolf”. Sutaj Estok emphasized that the suspect was not a member of a radicalized political group, neither right-wing nor left-wing.

According to media reports, Juraj C. is said to have worked for a private security service in the past and therefore had a firearms license. He legally owned the murder weapon. In his home region he is said to have tried his hand at writing and to have been a member of a literary circle. Levice is an hour’s drive south of Handlova, where Fico was staying.

The authorities are investigating the alleged perpetrator for attempted murder. A reporter from public television RTVS said the attacker appeared disoriented after being arrested. The TV news channel TA3 and other media were leaked a video recording from the police station. In it, the suspected attacker says: “I do not agree with government policy.” As an example, he mentioned in an indistinct voice the government’s planned media reform, against which thousands have been demonstrating for weeks.

Observers have been diagnosing increasing polarization in Slovak society for years. “Let us get out of the vicious circle of hatred and mutual accusations,” appealed outgoing President Zuzana Caputova. The attack was the act of an individual. “But the tense atmosphere of hatred was our collective work.”

Source: Stern

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