Bratislava, May 16 (IANS) Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was critically injured in an assassination attempt on Wednesday, has regained consciousness after an operation lasting several hours, local media has reported.
According to local media TA3, BBC quoted Slovakian Environment Minister Tomas Taraba as saying that the Prime Minister’s life is not in danger.
“I was very shocked … fortunately as far as I know the operation went well — and I guess in the end he will survive … he’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment,” Taraba said.
According to Taraba, one shot hit the stomach and the other a joint.
Fico was in critical condition while undergoing surgery, Slovakian Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said earlier on Wednesday evening at a press conference.
The attack has been classified as a politically motivated assassination, according to Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok.
Estok said that the assassination attempt was “politically motivated and the decision was born right after the presidential election”. He blamed “social media hate” for the attack.
Fico was wounded Wednesday afternoon after attending a government meeting in the town of Handlova, some 150 km northeast of the capital. He was shot by a 71-year-old man. According to eyewitnesses, the man shot the premier several times after a cabinet meeting as he was greeting supporters.
Fico had been transported by helicopter to the Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, as the flight to the capital would take a longer time.
Slovak media later identified the attacker as Juraj Cintula, reportedly a poet and founder of the Slovak Association of Writers, and a supporter of the opposition Progressive Slovakia party, and he used his licensed gun for the crime.
The head of the left-wing Smer-SD party, Fico returned to office in October 2023 after serving two stints as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018.
He halted the previous policy of military aid to Kiev and called for a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine. This had put him at odds with other European countries, save Hungary, which follows a similar course.
–IANS
sha/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
