Dozens of supporters of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico gather outside hospital

(18 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Banska Bystrica, Slovakia - 18 May 2024
1. Various of supporters outside the hospital where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is recovering
2. Police around hospital
3. Supporters laying flowers
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4. Various of people laying flowers
5. Man holding flag next to flowers
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan (last name not given), protester:
"I came to show my support as a human being to another human being in his hardest moments, I would say. And also, I was curious to see how many people would turn up. If Slovakians are also Slovakians when we don't play hockey, you know because then you can have 10,000 flags outside of the stadium. Here, not many."
7. Protester holding Slovakian flag
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan (last name not given), protester:
"To talk about politics in Slovakia is like, yeah, sometimes you are even afraid to say what you think because you're immediately hated by the other side. You're immediately hated by social media, you are immediately hated by half of the country basically, right? So in my opinion, people pay too much attention to politics. And we have lost the humanity somewhere on the way."
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9. Various of people laying flowers and messages of support
STORYLINE:
Dozens of supporters gathered outside a hospital in Banska Bystrica on Saturday in a show of solidarity for Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is in "very serious" condition after being shot earlier this week.

The Prime Minister was attacked on Wednesday evening after a government meeting in the former coal mining town of Handlova.

Since then, security has been heightened around the hospital and government buildings.

A supporter said that Slovakia's politics had become so polarized that "you are immediately hated by half of the country", when voicing a political opinion.

Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond.

His return to power last year on a pro-Russia, anti-American platform led to worries among fellow European Union and NATO members that he would abandon his country’s pro-Western course, particularly on Ukraine.

Thousands of demonstrators have repeatedly rallied in the capital and around the country of 5.4 million to protest his policies.

Fico said last month on Facebook that he believed rising tensions in the country could lead to the killing of politicians, and he blamed the media for fueling tensions.

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