Slovak PM’s life no longer in danger after shooting

BRATISLAVA: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico´s life was no longer in danger following an assassination attempt, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said on Sunday.

The suspected gunman appeared in court on Saturday after Fico was shot four times last Wednesday, leaving him fighting for his life at one stage.

“He has emerged from the immediate threat to his life, but his condition remains serious and he requires intensive care,” Kalinak, Fico´s closest political ally, told reporters.

The Slovak premier was shot as he was greeting supporters after a government meeting in the central town of Handlova. He underwent a five-hour operation on Wednesday and another on Friday at a hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica.

“We can consider his condition stable with a positive prognosis,” Kalinak said outside the hospital, adding that “we all feel a bit more relaxed now.”

Kalinak added that Fico would stay at Banska Bystrica for the moment. The suspected gunman, identified by Slovak media as 71-year-old poet Juraj Cintula, has been charged with premeditated attempted murder and was held in custody following a hearing on Saturday.