The “lone wolf,” a 71-year-old suspect in the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, might not be acting alone, according to Euractiv.
Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj-Eštok spoke at a press conference on Sunday on the security situation in the country. He stated that the gunman was not the one who deleted the alleged shooter’s Facebook story hours after the attack.
However, it was not deleted by him and apparently not by his wife either. Based on this operational information, we are therefore also working with the possibility that a group of people is behind the assault.
Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák stated that the lone wolf might have communicated with someone in his inner circle about the assassination attempt. This made it more likely “that he did not act alone,” the minister added.
Pavol Gašpar, the deputy director in charge of Slovak Information Service (SIS), warned that the security situation in Slovakia was serious and was “not made any easier by the fact that foreign media are here, and Slovakia is in the centre of attention now.”
It cannot be ruled out that we are a breeding ground for the activities of intelligence services from abroad.
As of Sunday evening, Fico was still in hospital in Banská Bystrica, according to the hospital’s deputy director Milan Urbani. The prime minister’s life was no longer in danger, although his condition remained serious, he added.
Lone wolf sparked growing tensions
Michal Šimečka, head of the leading opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS), revealed on Friday that he had to initiate criminal proceedings because of the death threats against him and his family. Some government politicians also began accusing the media and the opposition of indirect responsibility for the attack.
This comes amid a flood of misinformation about the incident circulating on social media, as well as hate comments. Šutaj-Eštok stated:
The reason for the hatred and tension in Slovak society is not the changes in the Special Prosecutor’s Office, changes in the Criminal Code or in national broadcaster RTVS [but] what many politicians and you, many media, have made of them.
The bills from December last year led to mass protests and formation of petitions. However, Slovakia’s mainstream media and most opposition parties rejected such allegations.
The president-elect Peter Pellegrini and acting President Zuzana Čaputová called on all party leaders to gather at the presidential palace. However, it was noted that the call for calm and unity amid ongoing tensions did not influence the leaders’ reluctance to gather.
Recent days and press conferences have shown us that some politicians are simply incapable of basic self-reflection even after such a tragedy.
