The man accused of attacking and wounding Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said he acted out of disagreement with government policy , but added that he did not want to commit murder and that he regrets what he did, AFP and Reuters reported, citing a court document, BTA writes.
Fico was shot four times last week while greeting supporters after a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova.
Since then, he underwent two operations in a hospital in the city of Banska Bistrica, where he is still being treated. The medical facility reported today that his condition is “serious but stable”.
The attacker, identified as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, was immediately arrested by Fico's security. On Saturday, the court remanded him in custody for attempted murder.
„During the interrogation, he stated that he did not agree with the policy of the current government”, wrote in the court notes of judge Roman Puhovski.
The document, with names redacted, was emailed to AFP by Katarina Kudjakova, a spokeswoman for the Specialized Criminal Court in the town of Pezinok, northeast of Bratislava, where the attacker appeared on Saturday.
The attacker criticized Fico's government mainly because of the abolition of the specialized prosecutor's office, attacks on the media, the termination of military aid to Ukraine and relations with the EU.
The attacker, according to local media a former mall security guard, told the courtroom that he decided to carry out the attack on May 13, two days before the shooting, and that no one else knew about his plan. The man used a personal 9mm ЧЗ-75 pistol that he had owned for more than 30 years.
The man “stated several times that he did not want to kill xxxxxx, but wanted to injure him and harm his health, so he aimed and shot him in the lower part of the torso,”, the judge wrote.
„He understands that he acted in a completely unacceptable way and that he should not have injured the victim. He should have given him a book he had prepared for him“, the document reads.
According to the judge, the man regrets his action and wants to apologize to the prime minister.