Slovak PM Robert Fico discharged from hospital after shooting

Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, has been discharged from hospital where he was being treated after an assassination attempt.

Miriam Lapunikova, the director of the hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica, said on Friday that Fico had been transported to his home in the capital, Bratislava, where he would continue to recover.

Lapunikova thanked Fico for being “a disciplined patient”.

The populist prime minister sustained several wounds after being shot in the abdomen as he greeted supporters on 15 May in the town of Handlova, about 85 miles (140km) north-east of Bratislava.

Video footage showed him approaching people gathered at barricades and reaching out to shake hands when a man stepped forward, extended his arm and fired five shots before being tackled and arrested.

Fico immediately underwent five-hours of surgery, followed by another two-hour operation two days later to remove dead tissue from his gunshot wounds.

The country’s specialised criminal court in the town of Pezinok ordered the suspect, who is charged with attempted murder, to remain in jail. Prosecutors told police not to publicly identify the person or release details about the case.

Government officials originally said they believed it was a politically motivated attack by a “lone wolf”, but later said a “third party” may have been involved in “acting for the benefit of the perpetrator”.

Fico has attempted to overhaul public broadcasting, which critics said would give the government full control of public television and radio. That, along with his plans to amend the penal code to eliminate a specialised anti-corruption prosecutor, have led opponents to fear he was leading Slovakia down a more autocratic path.