Star Metro - Trial of Slovak gunman who shot PM 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.

Police brought Cintula to a special penal court in the central city of Banska Bystrica at 0630 GMT on Tuesday.

His face uncovered, Cintula shouted "Long live free culture!" and "Long live democracy!" as he entered the courthouse, adding that he shot Fico "because he was stifling culture".

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

Since returning to office in 2023, Fico's 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.

- 'Examine intent' -

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".

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, according to a leaked video.

Cintula, who used a legally owned gun, told the Novy Cas tabloid in a rare interview in May that he did not want to kill Fico.

"I did not shoot at the heart or the head," he said.

He added that he had plotted the attack for two days and that he was relieved Fico survived.

"I have lost physical freedom but mentally I was liberated... I feel no inner tension. In prison, one must run across green meadows in the mind to stay sane," Cintula told Novy Cas.

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

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

This means they will have to prove Cintula wanted to harm the state, Tomas Stremy, a criminal law professor at Comenius University in Bratislava, told AFP.

"It is essential to examine the perpetrator's intent," he said.

- 'A 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's friendship 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.

P.Beaulieu--SMC