Slovakia’s Prime Minister Roberto Fico was shot during a rally in the country’s central mountainous region, with witnesses saying he had “bloody wounds” on his head and chest.
On Wednesday afternoon, Slovakia’s recently re-elected left-wing populist Prime Minister Roberto Fico was gunned down in Handlova, the main town in the mountainous Trenčín region.Slovak publications Dennick N. report Fico was meeting with members of the public at a local cultural center when shots rang out. “When the gunshots rang out, it was a deafening sound,” a witness said, and reportedly saw Fico fall to the ground with “blood pouring down his chest and head.”
The suspected shooter has been arrested.
BST 1515 Update: Prime Minister Fico is in critical condition
The Prime Minister’s Office is issued a statement Fico’s personal Facebook page said he was in critical condition and was being evacuated by helicopter. they said:
R. Fico is [subjected to an attempted assassination] today. He was shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition. He is currently being transported by helicopter to Banska Bystrica. Because it would take too long to go to Bratislava. [urgent surgery] . It will be decided in the next few hours.
According to Reuters, four shots were fired, one of which hit Fico in the abdomen.
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Footage shared from the scene shows a bodyguard picking Fico up and rushing him into a limousine before speeding away. In the foreground, police can be seen closing in on a suspected suspect on the ground.
Slovakia’s President Zuzana Čaputová called the apparent assassination attempt brutal and said: “I am shocked. At this critical moment Roberto Fico will do much to recover from the attack.” I hope”, report National newspaper “SME”. Slovak parliament and government meetings have been suspended.
The shooting sparked immediate outrage in Congress. Dennick N. I will report it. Richard Glück, from Fico’s own party, the left-wing nationalist Social Democracy (Smell), stormed the parliament building and shouted at opposition members that he had been shot because of Fico’s rhetoric. It is said that According to the report, Mr. Glück was criticized by those around him for not acting with the decency of a public official, and said the parliament speaker should understand Mr. Glück’s mental state after his party leader had just been shot. .
Tomas Taraba, Slovakia’s Minister of the Environment and one of the country’s four deputy prime ministers. I have written “All these hateful protesters have blood on their hands,” he said immediately after the shooting.
Fico was re-elected to Slovakia’s leadership late last year, having previously held the post twice. He is economically a left-wing populist, focused on border control and a Slovakia for Slovaks. he was called He was once known as the “Slovakian Trump” for his opposition to mass immigration to Slovakia and his criticism of unfair elections. The politician is also a Eurosceptic and strongly ideologically opposed to coronavirus lockdowns, and in a surprising development, in 2021 openly defied the then government’s COVID-19 rules. He was arrested during a live broadcast.
Recently, criticism of Fico from mainstream Europe has focused on his opposition to the war in Ukraine, with some even accusing him of being “pro-Putin.” Fico strongly denied these claims, saying he was not pro-Russian, just anti-war. Fico has recently suggested that Ukraine is willing to cede territory to Moscow in order to achieve peace, and has strongly rejected suggestions from French President Emmanuel Macron that NATO should send troops to mainland Ukraine. ing.
This story is developing and has more to come.
