Over a year after the shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico the trial of the confessed gunman began this week with expert testimony and shouts of “long live democracy”.
72-year old Juraj Cintula, a former miner and stone mason turned poet and pacifist who repeatedly shot Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15th 2024, has already confessed to the attack and offered prosecutors a plea-bargain for a lesser sentence, which they refused.
The purpose of the case is now to determine whether Cintula’s acts meet the threshold to be prosecuted as terrorism or simple attempted murder, and to determine his true motives for shooting the Prime Minister.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – JUNE 26: Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico attends the European Council meeting on June 26, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium. Leaders from the European Union are meeting in Brussels to discuss the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as migration and European defence and security. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
Proceedings, which began on Tuesday, have seen the gunman simultaneously refusing to testify or be cross-examined, but also frequently interjecting with shouts to accuse others giving evidence of lying or distorting the truth. Upon arriving at the specialist court in the city of Banska Bystrica on Tuesday, Cintula shouted “Long live democracy, long live free culture” and told waiting journalists that he was not a terrorist, reports Konzervatívny denník Postoj (‘The Conservative Daily Post’).
Prime Minister Fico did not make a personal appearance at the court and was represented by a lawyer.
The court heard the expert testimony of a psychiatrist who had reported Cintula is of “slightly-above average intellect”, “narcissistic and egocentric”, and “impulsive”. Despite these and a reported lack of respect for established social convention, the psychiatrist said they found Cintula cognitively functional with no mental disorders, and fit to face trial.
Several character witnesses were called, and these were frequently interrupted by Cintula, who called them liars. One witness who had planned planned to form an anti-violence political party with Cintula — but failed as they couldn’t find enough people to join to meet the legal threshold, so establishing an NGO instead — called the shooter an “eternal rebel”. Another witness, who said he’d been friends with Cintula since they went to school together in the 1980s said shortly before the shooting they had a falling out over their respective views on the Ukraine war, with Cintula taking offence at some of the opinions discussed.
Slovak Gunman Attacked Because of Views on Ukraine War, According to Confession https://t.co/iNd9g0UO2q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 24, 2024
Indeed, the Ukraine war looms large over Cintula in the Slovak court, after he told police investigators in his interrogation following the shooting that he’d acted because he was angry about Prime Minister Fico’s policy of not giving military aid to Kyiv. Cintula now seems to have rectified his story somewhat, now stating he shot Fico because “he was strangling culture”.
The court heard the defendant was active on social media in the weeks leading up to the attack and posted messages like “Stop Fico”, “stop government terror”, and a message lamenting that “Trump, Orbán, Putin, and Fico” had not already died.
For Cintula’s part, he rejects the notion that he is a terrorist and insists that he deliberately avoided shooting Fico in the head or chest so to wound him, not kill. He had also asserted that he felt no “hatred” towards Fico, only “anger”.
The purpose of the shooting was to physically disable Prime Minister Fico so he would be forced to retire from politics, he and his lawyer said. Cintula’s lawyer cited ballistic reports that stated the angle of bullet entry into Fico’s body being downward proves he was shooting to avoid Fico’s head and chest.
Fellow Assassination Survivor Robert Fico Congratulates Trump, Hails Defeat of Progressivism and Failure of Legacy Media https://t.co/8EzHjBrek5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 7, 2024
Indeed, the full details of the injuries sustained by Fico were revealed publicly for the first time in court this week. Fico’s lawyer said he welcomed this disclosure, as there had been claims in some quarters of the Slovak press that the shooting had been faked by Fico himself for political ends.
Fico suffered “complex gunshot wounds” after Cintula discharged a 9mm handgun at close range, hitting the Prime Minister at least three times. There was damage to the large and small intestines and bladder, and his left hip joint was shattered by a bullet that became lodged in his buttock after ricocheting inside Fico’s body. The Prime Minister’s hip will likely have to be replaced in the future because it is unable to take weight, the court heard.
Fico also experiences significant digestive problems after the damage to his intestines and now has to eat a special diet.
The Prime Minister said through his lawyer that he’d forgiven the gunman and would not be suing him for damages. He said he believes Cintula is “a victim and product” of a constant campaign of hate against him in the media and had been radicalised by “false narratives spread by the progressive political opposition”. He said: “The media significantly contribute to the current atmosphere in society”.
