At least some light has been shed on the motive of the attacker of the Slovak prime minister.
Markíza obtained the anonymous court decision on the detention of Juraj Cintula, the attacker of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer). The document reports in detail how Juraj C. prepared for the Nyitrabánya (Handlová) attack. According to his claim, he decided to commit an assassination against the Slovak Prime Minister on Monday, but he did not want to kill him, only to injure him.
He prepared the assault weapon for firing at home, and after he pulled it out on the spot, he pointed it at the lower part of Fico's upper body. At that moment, the Prime Minister was shaking hands with someone from the crowd, standing with his right side towards the attacker.
Juraj C. described himself as a socially sensitive person. He brought his book "The Message of the Victim" to the meeting in his bag, which he intended for the Prime Minister.
He wrote the recommendation on the morning of the attack (May 15), without a date, because he did not know how the situation would develop.
According to him, no one else knew what he was planning. On the day of the attack, he parked his car in the parking lot of a local shopping center and did not leave any weapons or explosives in the vehicle - which was later confirmed, according to Markíza, only the attacker's mobile phone was found in the car.
He used his right to remain silent before the court, but he did not agree with the legal classification of the crime.
He claimed he had no plans to flee justice. He also made a written promise about this.
In the latter, he also writes that he sincerely regretted his actions and admitted that what he had done was unacceptable. As he writes, he knows how to use the gun, so he deliberately aimed in such a way that he would not endanger Fico's life. According to his claim, he was also careful not to accidentally endanger anyone in the crowd or the security guards.
He is ready to apologize to the victim for his actions, even in person at the trial, if he has the opportunity. If not, he will issue a written apology to Fico.
The investigators have several testimonies at their disposal, one of which is from a woman who spoke about her attitude towards Prime Minister Juraj C.
According to this, the attacker was disturbed by the Prime Minister's attitude towards Russia and Hungary.
"Specifically, as he related to xxxxxx, that he maintained a good relationship with them, he did not like that xxxxxxx made a negative statement about the European Union. The witness also claimed that he knew that xxxxxxx had written on Facebook that "xxxxxx should be stopped," the court order states. According to the witness, Juraj C. used to practice with his weapon on a tree at a weekend house, and threatened him with death on several occasions if they did not agree on something. He confirmed that the attacker had previously also participated in political demonstrations.
The security guards and the editor of the regional correspondent were then interrogated. The latter made the recordings of his shooting available to the police.
According to the prosecutor, the suspect prepared for the "unprecedented act" and planned it in advance. He committed the attack with a legally held weapon, for which he obtained the cartridges himself.
"He prepared two cartridge magazines and clearly acted with the intention of causing serious, life-threatening injuries to the victim," said the prosecutor, pointing out that Juraj C. aimed at the prime minister's lower torso, where vital organs are located.
"He did it out of revenge because he didn't agree with the government's policy," he added. “And so at this stage of the criminal proceedings, there is no exaggeration in the legal characterization of the crime,” he said.
Cover image: Robert Fico's bodyguards take him away from the scene of the assassination
Source: X/Mycha
