Sutaj Estok: Four Officials Dismissed over Assassination Attempt on Premier

        Bratislava, October 15 (TASR) - Two directors of the Office for the Protection of Constitutional Officials and Diplomatic Missions have been dismissed over the assassination attempt on Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD), Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) stated on Tuesday, adding that he also dismissed the regional deputy of the police in Trencin and the district director of the Police Corps in Handlova (Trencin region) in the summer.
        On the assassination attempt, Sutaj Estok received a report from the director of the Office for the Protection of Constitutional Officials. "The factual background was stated there. The main critical factor that emerged from that report was that in 2023 training for the members of the Office for the Protection of Constitutional Officials was neglected. They didn't go through the training that they should have gone through, and on that basis, personal accountability was also drawn," he stated, adding that security clearances were also neglected in 2023 and in the years before. According to the minister, the officers who were dismissed were not members of the Police Corps who were present at the shooting of the premier, but officials.
        As for the report on the circumstances surrounding the May 15 assassination attempt against Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), Sutaj Estok noted that it's being drafted by the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS), he's not familiar with its details and has no access to the investigation file. "The report is to be submitted to Parliament by the end of the year at the very latest," claimed the minister, who hopes that at least a part of it will be declassified for the public.
        The prime minister was shot following an away-from-home cabinet meeting in Handlova on May 15 by Juraj C. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons], who is now being prosecuted for a particularly serious crime of terrorist attack. The attacker caused several serious injuries by shooting at the premier five times from a close range.