The man accused of shooting the Slovak prime minister is believed to be a writer and poet who founded an 'anti-violence' movement.
Juraj Cintula, 71, from Levice, has been identified by Slovak media as the gunman in yesterday's assassination attempt on Robert Fico, 59.
Fico was meeting a crowd of supporters in Handlova, northeast of Bratislava, after a meeting of the Slovak government, when a gunman pulled out a gun and fired five shots at point-blank range.
Yet Cintula is said to have founded an anti-violence movement in his hometown in 2015, claiming that 'every normal person rejects violence. Our goal is to unite people, keep peace and restore democracy.
“It's very difficult because no one trusts anyone anymore. The world is full of chaos and hatred.'
Juraj Cintula, 71, from Levice, has been identified by Slovak media as the gunman in today's assassination attempt on Robert Fico, 59
Robert Fico was meeting a crowd of supporters in Handlova, northeast of Bratislava, after a Slovak government meeting when the gunman fired five times at close range.
The man accused of shooting Slovak Prime Minister is believed to be a writer and poet who founded an 'anti-violence' movement
On its Facebook page, The Movement Against Violence describes itself as an “emerging political party whose goal is to prevent the spread of violence in society. To prevent war in Europe and the spread of hatred.'
The last message is from April 2022, a few weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine and reads: 'Which Slavic brotherhood? He is merely the aggressor and the attacked.”
Cintula is also believed to have ties to the pro-Russian group Slovački branci, a Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi has unearthed Facebook reports reportedly identifying Cintula as a sympathizer and supporter of the pro-Russian paramilitary group known for its ties to the Kremlin.
In another post, he criticized Fico's government for not cracking down on gambling.
'In every city or village there is a slot machine where gamblers masturbate for money that they have borrowed from their entire family and acquaintances, which amounts to tens of thousands of euros. What is the state doing about it?' He wrote.
Yesterday his son told local media: 'I have no idea what father was up to, what he was up to, why it happened. Maybe there was a short circuit.'
It turned out that in 2016, while working as a security guard at a supermarket in Levice, Cintula was attacked by a man and left badly bruised.
On its Facebook page, The Movement Against Violence describes itself as an “emerging political party whose goal is to prevent the spread of violence in society. To prevent war in Europe and the spread of hatred'. In the photo: shooter is arrested yesterday
This image, taken from video footage obtained by AFPTV, shows security personnel apprehending a suspected gunman after the Slovak Prime Minister was shot in Handlova
A TV interview with Cintula from that time shows that he has a black eye in the fragment he said about his attacker: 'He was drugged. He started throwing chickens from the shelves onto the floor and then started juggling them.”
A TV interview with Cintula from that time shows that he has a black eye in the fragment he said about his attacker: 'He was drugged. He started throwing chickens from the shelves onto the floor and then started juggling them.”
The man then began punching and kicking Cintula before police arrived and his attacker was taken away.
Cintula, who was president of the Duha Literary Club until his departure in 2016, wrote three poems that were posted on the club's Facebook page.
They were called Dream of a Rebel, Diptych and Wasps and he is also a member of the Association of Slovak Writers.
Cintula has also posted several political videos on YouTube and Facebook.
In one from eight years ago he said: 'The world is full of violence and weapons. People seem to be going crazy.
'There are a number of migrants pouring into Europe, there is hatred and extremism everywhere. But worst of all, the governments of the European states have no alternative to this chaos. But that's a human being after all.'