Slovak press under fire after PM Fico shooting

Almost immediately after the attempted assassination of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15, members of the ruling coalition blamed the attack on journalists by linking it to their critical coverage and issued retaliatory threats.

“This is your fault,” said Ľuboš Blaha, a deputy speaker of parliament and a member of Fico’s Smer party, who has used social media to accuse the press of bias and to smear journalists. “You, the liberal media, the political opposition, what hatred you spread against Robert Fico, you built the gallows for him,” he told reporters before the prime minister was discharged from hospital later in May.

CPJ was in Slovakia at the time of the attack meeting with journalists, press freedom advocates, and diplomats. They described the atmosphere as “depressing,” “toxic,” and “unprecedented.” Read CPJ’s new analysis on why the attempt on the prime minister’s life might represent a new chapter in the government’s war on the media.