Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told investigators that he did not know who had shot him or from where during last year’s assassination attempt, according to a recording of his police interrogation played in court on Wednesday.
The testimony was presented during the trial of 72-year-old Juraj Cintula, who is charged with carrying out the attack and faces life in prison for committing a terrorist offense.
“I heard sounds that I did not identify as gunfire. At the same time, I felt a sharp blow to the abdomen. I absolutely did not register any person who resembled the accused,” Fico said in the recording, which was played during the second day of the main hearing. The prime minister is not attending the trial in person.
Fico described how the shooting occurred after a government meeting in the town of Handlová in May last year. He recalled going outside to greet people gathered in front of the meeting venue, where an elderly woman caught his attention. He added that the shooter was among those present.
According to the indictment, Cintula, fired five shots at close range with a pistol, striking Fico multiple times and inflicting serious injuries that required surgery. During questioning last summer, Fico also said that he would likely need a hip replacement in his left leg because of the attack.
The defendant, however, denied harboring personal hatred toward Fico, insisting he had only been angry, particularly over comments made by the prime minister. He referred to remarks Fico made last spring when he labeled critics of his culture minister, Martina Šimkovičová, as “spiritually homeless.” That phrase, according to Cintula, angered parts of Slovakia’s cultural community.
In court, recordings from city surveillance cameras and television footage showing the shooting were also played.
The court heard additional evidence on Wednesday, including forensic reports related to the weapon used — a CZ 75B pistol — and transcripts of Cintula’s earlier statements. In social media posts and emails, Cintula had criticized Fico and expressed discontent over the results of the 2023 parliamentary elections, which Fico’s Smer party had won. He had also written about withdrawing from public life.
In a letter following the attack, Cintula wrote that he felt no remorse, adding that the prime minister “should be in a wheelchair.”
Cintula originally faced charges of attempted premeditated murder, carrying a sentence of 25 years to life. His defense offered a plea deal for a 12-year sentence, but prosecutors rejected it, citing the legal requirement of a minimum 20-year sentence under the terrorism charge.
The trial is set to continue in August, with additional hearings scheduled for September and October.
In his first public statement after the shooting last year, Fico said, “It’s time for forgiveness. I have no hatred for the assassin, I don’t want to take revenge or seek compensation. I forgive him and leave him to sort out his thoughts.” However, he also blamed political opponents, saying, “It is clear that he was only a messenger of evil political hatred from the failed and frustrated Slovak opposition.”
The shooting was not the only threat against Fico last year. In October, security services stopped another individual armed with a loaded gun at a public event at Dukla. “We captured a very militant person who hates me because of my stance on Ukraine,” Fico said at the time. “He had a gun. Luckily, he didn’t get into the zone where we politicians were, and he went to the zone where the people were. There, he passed through the frame to the metal detector, it was found that he had a fully loaded weapon.”
NEW: 🇸🇰 "I'm even more afraid now than I was before."
A year ago today, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was the subject of an assassination attempt by an opposition activist.
Here, he speaks candidly about the incident. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/X1ssj9oWGz
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 15, 2025On the anniversary of the shooting this May, Fico told an interviewer that he believed the threat of politically motivated violence had grown worse. “I’m even more afraid of these groups now than I was before, not personally but generally,” he said. “I thought that this event would calm society down a little, but it’s worse than it was before the assassination attempt.”
