BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, Oct 21, (AP): A court in Slovakia on Tuesday convicted the man in last year’s attempted assassination of the country's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico of a terror attack and sentenced him to 21 years in prison. Juraj Cintula was accused of opening fire on Fico on May 15, 2024, as the prime minister greeted supporters following a government meeting in the town of Handlová, located 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital of Bratislava.

The verdict was handed down by the Specialized Criminal Court in the central city of Banská Bystrica. Cintula and prosecutors can still appeal the verdict. Cintula, 72, was arrested immediately after the attack and ordered to remain behind bars. When questioned by investigators, he rejected the accusation of being a "terrorist.”

Fico was shot in the abdomen and was taken from Handlová to a hospital in nearby Banská Bystrica. He underwent a five-hour surgery, followed by another two-hour surgery two days later. He has since recovered. Cintula has claimed his motive for the shooting was that he disagreed with government policies. He refused to testify at the Specialized Criminal Court but confirmed that what he had told investigators about his motive remains true.

In his testimony read by a prosecutor at the trial, Cintula said he disagreed with Fico’s government policies, including the cancellation of a special prosecution office dealing with corruption, the end of military help for Ukraine and the government’s approach to culture. "I decided to harm the health of the prime minister but I had no intention to kill anyone,” he said in the testimony.

He also said he was relieved when he learned the premier survived. Cintula was originally charged with attempted murder. Prosecutors later dropped that charge and said they were instead pursuing the more serious charge of engaging in a terror attack, based on evidence the investigators obtained, but gave no further details.

Government officials initially said they believed it was a politically motivated attack committed by a "lone wolf,” but announced later that a third party might have been involved in "acting for the benefit of the perpetrator.” Fico previously said he "had no reason to believe” it was an attack by a lone deranged person and repeatedly blamed the liberal opposition and media for the assassination attempt. There is no evidence for that. The prime minister was not present at the trial.