5 months ago
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Slovakian media has described the shooter as a 71-year-old man who wrote poems and previously worked as a security guard.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is currently in hospital following a shooting that occurred following his cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova.
Slovakian media has named the shooter as Juraj Cintula from the small western town of Levice.
According to Slovak daily newspaper Dennik N, the suspected perpetrator is 71 years old, a writer and a founding member of the DÚHA Literary Club.
He has written three collections of poetry and published two novels titled 'The Message of Sacrifice' in 2010 and 'Efata' in 2015, according to the literary club's Facebook page. The latter is a novel about Slovakia's Roma community.
The Slovak Writers' Association (SSS) has registered Cintula as a member since 2015 however, have since tried to distance themselves from his association posting in a statement, "We express our indignation at such a brutal act, which has no parallel in the history of Slovakia."
Cintula reportedly owned a gun license, and previously worked as a security guard for a private security firm where he himself was the target of an attack in a shopping centre.
Markíza TV station reported on a brief video showing the suspect, which was released shortly after his arrest. In the video, he says, "I don't agree with the government's policies. Why are the media being targeted? Why is RTVS under attack? Why was Mazák dismissed from his position?"
The assassination attempt is the first on a senior politician in the history of modern Slovakia, which gained independence in 1993.
Slovakia's General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka has vowed that the attacker would face "uncompromising" punishment from law enforcement.
Allies of Fico have blamed 'liberal media' for the attack, accusing journalists of creating an environment that promoted hatred for Robert Fico and his populist policies.
Lubos Blaha, Slovakia's deputy parliament speaker and deputy chairman of Fico's Smer party has said, "For Smer, I want to sharply condemn what happened today in Handlova and at the same time express heavy disgust over what you have committed here in the past years".
"You, liberal media and political opposition. What hatred you spread against Robert Fico."
Slovakia's largest opposition party Progressive Slovakia has called off a planned protest against a controversial reform of Slovakia's public broadcasting services planned by Fico's government. The leader of the party, Michal Simecka, said the move was done to avoid an "escalation of tension".
