Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico Shot Multiple Times Critical Condition
Posted by admin on 2024-05-17 |
Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert
Fico was shot multiple times on Wednesday, leaving him in a critical condition,
as reported on his Facebook page and confirmed by the Slovak government. The
shooting occurred in Handlova, a town approximately 90 miles northeast of
Bratislava, following a government meeting, shocking the nation and sending
ripples across Europe.
Surgeons spent hours battling to save the
59-year-old populist leader after the attack that has been condemned around the
world.
“The prime minister is in critical condition
and his life is in danger and he is still in the operating theatre,” Interior
Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters at a hospital in the central city of
Banska Bystrica.
Shooting
Incident
Footage of events just after the shooting
showed security agents grabbing a wounded Fico from the ground and hustling him
into a black car that speeds away. Other police handcuffed a man on the
pavement nearby.
Police had detained a suspect at the site of
attack in Handlova, President Zuzana Caputova told reporters. “I am shocked, we
are all shocked by the terrible and heinous attack,” she added.
Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak would
not give information on the suspect but said: “What has happened is a political
assault. It’s absolutely clear, and we have to react on that,” Kalinak said.
Suspects
Fico, whose Smer-SD party won the general
election last September, is a four-time prime minister and a political veteran
accused of swaying his country's foreign policy in favour of the Kremlin.
Media reported that the suspected gunman was
a 71-year-old writer, but police have not named any suspects.
Reactions
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
expressing his shock over the incident, PM Modi wrote on X: “I strongly condemn
this cowardly and dastardly act and wish PM Fico a speedy recovery. India
stands in solidarity with the people of the Slovak Republic.”
US President Joe Biden said he was alarmed to
hear about the attack. “Jill and I are praying for a swift recovery, and our
thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia,” Biden said in a
statement. “We condemn this horrific act of violence. Our embassy is in close
touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist.”
