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Zilinka: Current Legal Classification of Fico's Shooting Might...

Na snímke generálny prokurátor SR Maroš Žilinka počas tlačovej konferencie po mimoriadnom zasadnutí Bezpečnostnej rady SR v Bratislave 22. mája 2024. Foto: TASR Jaroslav Novák

Zilinka: Current Legal Classification of Fico's Shooting Might Still Get Changed

Bratislava, May 22 (TASR) - Last week's attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) life is being investigated at the moment as an aggravated attempt at premeditated murder, although it can't be ruled out that this legal classification might change at a later stage, Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka declared after a session of the State Security Council on Wednesday.

Zilinka underlined that investigators work with various versions. "As for some questions emerging in society as to why this isn't being prosecuted as a crime of terrorism, I'm answering that it's possible that the deed might get reclassified, but only based on results of the investigation," he said.

The Prosecutor-General reiterated his call on the media to refrain from publishing comments on the ongoing investigation. He reassured the public that more information will be released once it becomes possible. "Right now, however, we're in the early stage of the investigation and it's necessary to dispel all speculations and doubts."

Fico was heavily injured by the perpetrator on May 15 after an away-from-home session of the Government in the town of Handlova, when the Premier came out to greet local inhabitants and Juraj C. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], 71, fired multiple gunshots at him. On Saturday (May 18), the Specialised Criminal Court took Juraj C. into police custody.

In the meantime, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok announced that also being investigated is a possibility that the perpetrator wasn't a lone wolf. This stems from the fact that the attacker's Facebook page and chat history were deleted two hours after the attack. One of the versions is that the perpetrator was involved with a group of people who were encouraging him to shoot Fico.