BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A court in Slovakia on Tuesday convicted the suspect in last year’s attempted assassination of the country’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico of a terror attack and sentenced him to 21 years in prison.

Juraj Cintula was accused of opening fire on Fico on May 15, 2024, as the prime minister greeted supporters following a government meeting in the town of Handlová, located 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital of Bratislava.

The verdict was handed down by the Specialized Criminal Court in the central city of Banská Bystrica. Cintula and prosecutors still can appeal the verdict.

Cintula, 72, was arrested immediately after the attack and ordered to remain behind bars. When questioned by investigators, he rejected the accusation of being a “terrori

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