Slovakia: PM Fico's condition currently not life-threatening

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico is out of danger following an assassination attempt, officials said on Sunday.

Fico was hit four times by bullets at point-blank range on Wednesday when meeting supporters in the central town of Handlova.

What do we know about Fico's condition?

Milan Urbani, the deputy head of the university hospital in Banska Bystrica, said that the prime minister's condition was no longer life-threatening.

"Based on the adviser to the medical consultation this morning, we can state that the patient is currently not in a life-threatening condition," Urbani said at a press conference.

However, he stressed that Fico's "condition is still very serious and he will need a long time and rest to recover."

"We are all convinced that his physical condition is so strong that we can expect a further recovery day by day, even if the road to recovery will take several weeks," Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said.

Kalinak, who is also Slovakia's defense minister, said that there were no plans to transfer Fico to a hospital in the capital Bratislava as this was not possible at present.

Fico underwent surgery on Wednesday directly after the shooting and again on Friday.

On Saturday, Kalinak said that there was no need for Fico's duties to be formally taken over. Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova said that the premier's condition was stable.

What do we know about the suspected shooter?

The alleged perpetrator of the shooting, identified by police as Juraj C.,  was taken to the special criminal court in the western town of Pezinok on Saturday for questioning.

The court ordered he be remanded in custody.

Police and the government said that the suspect acted on political motives but did not belong to any political groups.

sdi/msh (dpa, AP)