A Slovak court convicted Juraj Cintula of carrying out a terrorist attack against Prime Minister Robert Fico and sentenced him to 21 years in prison. The unanimous verdict concerned the May 2024 shooting that left Fico with life-threatening injuries and deepened political tensions in Slovakia.
Cintula, 72, fired five shots at close range on May 15, 2024, as Fico greeted supporters after a government meeting in Handlová. Security officers subdued the gunman at the scene. Fico was struck in the abdomen and transported to a hospital in Banská Bystrica, where he underwent a five-hour operation followed by another procedure two days later. He later recovered and returned to public appearances.
The Specialized Criminal Court in Banská Bystrica found that the attack’s political target and purpose justified the terrorism conviction. Judge Igor Králik said Cintula had attacked the prime minister specifically and had sought to act against the government. Prosecutors had initially pursued attempted murder before replacing it with the more serious terrorism charge.
Cintula did not deny shooting Fico but rejected the claim that he intended to kill him. In testimony read during the trial, he said he wanted to injure the prime minister because he opposed government policies. Those objections included the closure of a special anti-corruption prosecution office, the government’s decision to end military assistance to Ukraine and its approach to culture. He said he felt relief after learning that Fico survived.
The court declined to impose a life sentence, citing Cintula’s age and lack of a previous criminal record. He called the outcome unjust as he left the courtroom. His lawyer said an appeal was very likely and had argued unsuccessfully for the lesser offence of attacking a public official.
Fico was not in court for the verdict. He had previously said he bore no hatred toward Cintula, had forgiven him and did not intend to pursue a separate legal claim. The prime minister and allies have blamed hostile opposition and media rhetoric for creating the atmosphere around the attack, although no evidence presented in the supplied reporting established responsibility by political opponents.
The case has resonated beyond the courtroom because of Slovakia’s polarized politics. Fico returned to office for a fourth term after his Smer party won the 2023 election on a platform critical of Western policy toward Russia. His government’s changes to criminal justice, media and foreign policy have prompted repeated protests. The conviction formally treated the shooting as terrorism, while the expected appeal meant the legal process was not necessarily finished.
