Antifake / Factcheck

29 мая

“Ukrainian Wife of Shooter Provoked Assassination Attempt on Slovak PM.” Police Debunks Claim by Eismont and Kazakov

71-year-old writer Juraj Cintula shot Prime Minister Robert Fico five times because he was dissatisfied with the politician's policies.

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Fake appearance date: 16.05.2024
Writer Juraj Cintula shot Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico five times. Kirill Kazakov, the editor of the pro-government Belarusian newspaper “Minsk Courier,” stated that the man committed the crime because of his wife — a refugee from Ukraine. Allegedly, she forced Cintula to participate in protests against Fico due to his anti-Ukrainian position. The Weekly Top Fake team found what's wrong with this news story.

The Slovak police reported on May 15, 2024, that the 71-year-old writer Juraj Cintula shot Prime Minister Robert Fico five times because he was dissatisfied with the politician's policies. Pro-government media personality Kirill Kazakov discussed the details of the assassination attempt with Alena Rodovskaya, the host of a pro-government media outlet, on March 16, 2024.

“Famous writer's wife revealed to be a refugee from Ukraine, who forced, well, maybe not directly forced, but indirectly, made him participate in rallies against Fico because the latter allegedly banned arms supplies to Ukraine,” Kazakov said on the air of the evening political channel “Minsk News.”

The same narrative was expressed by the head of the state-run TV channel Belarus-1, Ivan Eismont.

“It was later discovered that the shooter's arrested wife had a hand in it, but it was hardly a surprise... She turned out to be a refugee from Ukraine and had been inciting him to take revenge for a long time, including against Fico for his critical position on Ukraine,” Eismont said.

The Slovak police have officially countered allegations that the suspect's wife is a Ukrainian refugee, saying:

“The story that the suspect’s wife is a refugee from Ukraine is not true.”