The trial of the man who shot and seriously wounded Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last year has begun.

Juraj Cintula, 72, was led into court on Tuesday wearing shackles as court proceedings, which could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars, commence in the Specialized Criminal Court in the small city of Banska Bystrica in the heart of the country.

Cintula, who admits to shooting Fico but denies trying to kill him, loudly criticized the prime minister as he entered the court.

When asked by a reporter why he had shot Fico, he replied, “Because he throttled culture.”

“Long live free culture! Long live democracy!” he yelled as he entered the court building, flanked by armed police wearing balaclavas, according to local reporters at the court.

The state has indicted the retiree on terrorism charges.

Prosecutor Katarina Habcakova told the court that authorities had rejected an offer from the defense to settle the case by Cintula accepting a 12-year prison sentence.

“Cintula acted to disable (Fico) permanently from performing his duty as prime minister and thus prevent the government from its proper functioning,” Habcakova said.

In court, the defense said they rejected the terrorism charge, arguing that not every attack on an official was terrorism and that Cintula acted alone.

During the attack on May 15, 2024, Cintula fired five shots at Fico with a handgun from just four feet away as the prime minister was shaking hands with the public in the central Slovak town of Handlova, hitting Fico four times.

The politician was taken to hospital, where he underwent a five-hour surgery, followed by another two-hour surgery two days later.

Cintula, a former mine worker, stonemason, and security guard, has told investigators he shot Fico to hurt but not kill him.

In a statement read by a prosecutor at the trial, Cintula said he objected to Fico’s policies, including the cancellation of a special prosecution office dealing with corruption, the end of military help for Ukraine, and the government’s approach to culture.

“I decided to harm the health of the prime minister, but I had no intention to kill anyone,” he said.

Fico says he has forgiven Cintula and does not intend to be at the trial unless called to testify.

His representative at the trial, lawyer David Lindtner, has told the court that his client will not seek damages, according to Slovak outlet Domov.

Fico, a member of the Communist Party before the dissolution of communism, was elected to parliament in 1992 as a member of the Party of the Democratic Left. In 1999, he became chairman of the Direction–Social Democracy party, known as Smer, and has been prime minister of Slovakia since 2023.

This is his third term in the post, having previously been prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018.

His brand of left-wing populism and relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn criticism both inside Slovakia and beyond the country’s borders, most recently when he chose to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9.

During his visit, he was pictured shaking hands with Putin, who told him during a bilateral meeting in the Kremlin that Russia had “always maintained relations with Slovakia as a friendly state.”

Fico was the only leader of an EU country to choose to go to the Victory Day parade, which was also attended by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and representatives from North Korea.

Last month, he said he would block future European Union sanctions against Russia if they harm Slovakia’s national interests, after Slovakia’s parliament passed a resolution urging his government not to support any new measures.

He has long been vocal in his opinion that the trade restrictions placed on Russia have hit Slovakia and the EU as a whole harder than the Kremlin.

Slovakia is a member of both NATO and the EU.