Extremism and pro-Russian connections: What are the motives of the man who tried to kill the leader of Slovakia

Juraj Chintula wrote texts for the organization Slovenski branci, an unregistered Slovak paramilitary group with links to extremists and a pro-Russian orientation. Use the platform to harshly criticize migrants and the state. This Wednesday, Juraj Chintula tried to assassinate the Slovak Prime Minister and admitted that he attacked Robert Fico for disagreeing with “government policy” and said this during interrogation.

The suspect’s son said his father did not vote for Robert Fico, but did not answer the question of whether the man had a hateful relationship with the prime minister. However, he confirmed that Juraj Chintula had a gun at home. “I have no idea what my father was going to do, what he was planning, why this happened (…) maybe there was some kind of short circuit, I don’t know,” he added.

Interior Minister Matus Shutai Eshtok said the shooting was “politically motivated.” Eshtok added that “the suspect decided to carry out the attack shortly after the presidential elections.”

Slovakia’s prime minister is currently hospitalized, stabilized but in a very serious condition after being shot in the abdomen following a government meeting in Handlov, 150 kilometers from the capital, this Wednesday.