Robert Fico: Suspect charged with attempted murder of Slovak Prime Minister

A man has been charged with attempted murder of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico after the politician was seriously injured in a shooting.

The suspected attacker has not been officially named, but Slovak reports suggest he is believed to be a 71-year-old from the town of Levice.

He could reportedly face life in prison.

Mr. Fico, 59, is in a serious but stable condition after being shot multiple times in what colleagues described as a politically motivated attack.

Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said at a news conference on Thursday that the suspect acted alone and had previously taken part in anti-government protests.

“This is a maverick whose actions were accelerated after the presidential election because he was dissatisfied with its outcome,” he said.

In broad daylight on Wednesday, Mr. Fico was shot at close range, surrounded by a crowd of supporters.

A gunman fired five times, hitting the prime minister in the stomach and arm.

The attack took Mr. Fico’s security staff completely by surprise. Footage showed several officers packing the wounded prime minister into a car before driving away at high speed while the others arrested the suspect.

Mr Fico was taken by air ambulance to a nearby hospital with injuries described as life-threatening.

He was then transferred to another facility in Banska Bystrica, east of Handlova, where surgeons and trauma teams worked through the night to stabilize him.

On Thursday, the hospital director told a news conference that Mr. Fico’s condition was stable but “really very serious” and he had been moved to an intensive care unit.

Mr. Pellegrini later said he had visited Mr. Fico, who could speak a few sentences.

“The situation is very critical and we have to give him a lot of energy and be positive,” said Mr Pellegrini.

Describe local media reports the suspect as a writer and political activist.

A video that was widely circulated in Slovak media is said to show him.

In the footage, the man says he disagrees with government policy and its attitude towards state media. The BBC has not verified whether the person in the video is the perpetrator who was arrested at the scene, nor the circumstances in which the video was filmed.

Several Slovak politicians called the shooting an “attack on democracy.”

On Thursday, outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Caputova called for calm and invited all party leaders to a meeting to discuss political tensions.

Meanwhile, Slovakia’s elected President Peter Pellegrini called on all parties to suspend campaigning ahead of European Parliament elections scheduled for early June.

Mr Fico is a controversial figure at home because of his calls to end military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

The shooting occurred on the day parliament began discussing the government’s proposal to abolish Slovakia’s public broadcaster RTVS.

Thousands of Slovaks have protested in recent weeks against the planned reform of public broadcasting. However, a planned opposition demonstration was canceled on Wednesday when news of the shooting broke.

In his interview with the BBC, Deputy Prime Minister Taraba blamed the shooting on “false narratives” from opposition parties in Slovakia.

“Our prime minister has mentioned several times in the past that he was afraid something like this would happen,” Mr Taraba said in another interview with the BBC’s “World Tonight”.

And Interior Minister Mr Estok accused the media of contributing to the climate that led to the 59-year-old’s shooting, telling a news conference: “Many of you were the ones who sowed this hatred.”

Pavol Strba, foreign correspondent for the Slovak newspaper Dennik N, told the BBC News Channel that “the current ruling coalition has painted targets on the heads of journalists, members of NGOs, etc.”

“I have information that some newsrooms in Slovakia are currently being patrolled by police,” he said.