Il Nuovo Postiglione - 'Free culture': Slovak gunman defends Fico shooting as trial begins

Juraj Cintula shot nationalist, Kremlin-friendly Fico four times at close range after a government meeting in the central Slovak mining town of Handlova on May 15, 2024, leaving him seriously wounded.

Detained at the scene, Cintula -- who has said he intended to wound but not kill the prime minister -- is standing trial on terror charges and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Heavily armed police brought Cintula to a special penal court in the central city of Banska Bystrica.

His face uncovered, Cintula shouted "Long live free culture!" and "Long live democracy!" as he entered the courthouse.

When asked by media why he shot at Fico, he said "because he was stifling culture".

He appeared relaxed as police uncuffed him, occasionally smiling as the trial began, an AFP reporter observed.

Since Fico's return to office in 2023, his government has launched a crackdown on non-profit organisations, LGBTQ rights, cultural institutions and some media it deems "hostile", drawing protests in the heavily polarised country.

- 'Anger' -

Prosecutors argue that Cintula sought to "permanently prevent Fico from serving as prime minister, thereby preventing the Slovak government from properly functioning and fulfilling its programme".

But Cintula's attorney Namir Alyasry insisted the shooting was not a terror attack, saying that "the defendant felt anger solely towards the victim and not towards the government of the Slovak Republic".

Prosecutors quoted Cintula as saying in pre-trial statements that he was "socially sensitive and what is happening in society irritates me".

"I decided to damage Robert Fico's health so that he would not be able to perform the function of prime minister.... but I didn't want to kill anyone," said Cintula, who declined to testify in court on Tuesday.

Just after the shooting, Cintula told the police he was protesting measures taken by Fico's government, including the halting of military aid to war-torn Ukraine.

Fico did not show up in court on Tuesday.

Cintula, who used a legally owned gun, told the Novy Cas tabloid in a rare interview in May that he had plotted the attack for two days and that he was relieved Fico survived, with him not aiming "at the heart or the head".

Cintula was originally charged with premeditated murder but prosecutors later reclassified the shooting as a terror attack.

His case file comprises 18 volumes and more than 6,200 pages.

- 'Product of hatred' -

Fico underwent two major operations and returned to work two months after the attack.

The 60-year-old is serving a fourth term as premier, heading a three-party coalition governing the EU and NATO member of 5.4 million people.

Fico seeking close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin has also led thousands of Slovaks to rally against him under the slogan of "Slovakia is Europe" as Russian troops keep pounding Ukraine.

Fico himself called Cintula a "product of hatred, an assassin created by the media and the opposition".

"The governing coalition naturally tried to use (the shooting) to its advantage," Grigorij Meseznikov, a political analyst at the Institute for Public Affairs, told AFP.

"This included associating the horrible act with the activities of opposition parties without any evidence or witness testimony to support these claims," he added.

S.Maiolo--INP