Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Ex-Czech PM gets hit on head by walking stick


(MENAFN) Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis was briefly hospitalized after being struck in the head with a walking stick at a campaign event on Monday.

The incident occurred in the eastern village of Dobra, where the leader of the right-wing ANO party was meeting supporters ahead of the October parliamentary election. ANO spokesman Martin Vodicka said the assailant hit Babis from behind with a “metal object,” while ANO MP Zuzana Ozanova clarified that he had been struck with a walking stick. Police detained the attacker at the scene, though their motives remain unclear.

Babis was taken to a hospital for tests and later released. On X, he wrote, “Thank you all for your support. I hope I’ll be fine. Tomorrow I’ll be waiting for further assessment of the examination results, but for now the doctors have recommended that I rest.” He canceled a similar trip planned for Tuesday.
ANO deputy leader Alena Schillerova blamed the attack on what she described as “hatred spread by the ruling parties on billboards and social media.” She added, “This is a direct consequence of their campaign based on fear and division.”

Babis, who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021, has consistently opposed sending weapons to Ukraine, advocating for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. He has denied claims that he spreads “Russian narratives.”

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