Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The would-be killer of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was given 21 years in prison for attempting to kill the Slovak leader.
Juraj Cintula got sentenced Tuesday by a Slovak court on charges of terrorism for the attempted May 2024 assassination of Fico. He faced 25 years but received a lighter sentence due to age.
Cintula, 72, shot the prime minister five times with a pistol at close range during a political gathering in Handlova. Fico was reportedly hit in the stomach, the arm and the leg.
Fico did not attend Tuesday's trial but was represented by an attorney.
Cintula, a known poet and activist who disagreed with Fico over Ukrainian policy among other issues, told police he only wanted to injure Fico so he could no longer serve as prime minister.
