Court Finds Juraj C. Guilty of Terrorism, Sends Him to Prison for 21 Years

Banska Bystrica, 21 October (TASR) - The Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Banska Bystrica on Tuesday found defendant Juraj C. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], who shot Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in Handlova (Trencin region) on 15 May last year, guilty of committing an act of terrorism and sentenced him to 21 years in prison. The court's verdict isn't yet final. Juraj C., a 72-years-old pensioner, was charged with a terrorist attack against a protected public official and faced life imprisonment. There was no doubt that he had committed the crime, but legal qualification of his crime was disputable. According to prosecutor Katarina Habcakova and the premier's lawyer David Lindtner, it has been proven beyond any doubt that the defendant committed the particularly serious crime of a terrorist attack. The defendant's lawyer Namir Alyasry proposed the court to reclassify the act committed by his client to the criminal offence of attacking a public official where the sentence ranges between seven and 12 years. Juraj C. during the trial claimed that he only intended to injure Fico in order to prevent him from continuing in office as premier and didn't intend to kill him. He chose the away-from-home government session in Handlova for that. When the premier approached supporters, Juraj C. drew a legally owned firearm and fired five shots. ko