Slovak PM Fico conscious after second operation

BRATISLAVA -- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is awake and stable in intensive care after undergoing another operation on Friday, but his condition remains "very serious," the hospital told the media.

Miriam Lapunikova, director of the F. D. Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica where Fico is staying, said that two medical teams did a five-hour surgery on Wednesday evening and removed dead tissues from gunshot wounds that had remained inside Fico's body.

The prime minister would have to undergo another operation following a CT scan, she added.

Also on Friday, Slovakia's Specialized Criminal Court received a proposal to take into custody the shooter who heavily injured Fico. The defendant, identified as Juraj C., is charged with an aggravated murder attempt.

"The prosecutor deems the defendant a potential flight risk and believes that there's also the risk he might continue his criminal activity, hence he pursues both the flight-prevention and preventive custody," said court spokesperson Katarina Kudjakova.

The motion is to be decided on Saturday, said the spokesperson.

President Zuzana Caputova and President-elect Peter Pellegrini will meet the leaders of the parliamentary political parties on Tuesday to discuss the situation following the assassination attempt on Fico.