Juraj Cintula, the suspect in the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last May, has been officially charged with terrorism.
Cintula was arrested immediately after the attack. Last month, authorities completed their investigation and recommended that he face trial, although a trial date has not yet been set.
Initially charged with attempted murder, prosecutors dropped this charge in July and instead opted for the more severe charge of terrorism, citing evidence gathered during the investigation.
To recap, on May 15 of last year, an assassination attempt was made on Fico after a government meeting in Handlová. For a period following the incident, there were concerns about the prime minister’s survival.
The attacker, 71-year-old Cintula, stated during interrogation that he did not intend to kill Fico, but rather to “cause harm to his health” to prevent him from continuing policies that Cintula opposed.
