Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is fighting for his life after yesterday’s assassination attempt, Slovak officials have said, as they condemned the attack as an “attempted assassination on democracy”.
President-elect Peter Pellegrini made the remarks as he called for calm in a joint news conference with outgoing President Zuzana Caputova.
“An attempted assassination of the prime minister is an attempted assassination on democracy,” Mr Pellegrini said.
He added: “This assassination attempt needs to be condemned by all of us jointly … We must not respond to hate with more hate or else this evil will never be stopped.”
Earlier today, the country’s defence minister said Mr Fico was in a very serious condition due to how “complicated” his gunshot injuries were.
Multiple shots were fired outside a cultural centre in the town of Handlova, around 85 miles northeast of the capital Bratislava, where the 59-year-old was meeting supporters, the government said.
A suspect is in custody, but the motive for the shooting is still unclear.
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