2011 Kosice McDonald's bombing

2011 Kosice McDonald's bombing
Scene after the McDonald's was bombed in Kosice
Location	Protifašistických bojovníkov 3012/6, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia
Date	Wednesday, December 28, 2011 5:30 p.m. CET (UTC+01:00)
Attack type	Bombing, lone wolf
Deaths	0
Non-fatal injuries	0
Perpetrator	Ladislav Kuc (sentenced to 25 years)
Motive	Eco-terrorism, possibly mental illness

The 2011 Kosice McDonald's bombing was a partially successful terrorist attack, which occurred on December 28, 2011 in Kosice, Slovakia.^[1] At approximately 5:30 p.m. CET a timed bomb exploded in a trash can in front of a McDonald's restaurant on Protifašistických bojovníkov 6, in Kosice. As there was no one around at the time of the attack, it did not cause any casualties or injuries. Furthermore, it only exploded partially, which did not project nails attached to the explosive. The perpetrator, Ladislav Kuc, was convicted on 8 counts of terrorism, 1 count of attempted terrorism and 1 count of unlawful possession of weapons. He was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum-security prison. It was the first time that anyone had been convicted on terrorism charges in Slovakia.

Trial

The Kosice I County Court sentenced Kuc to 25 years for various offenses connected to the attack, as well as to his planned attacks.^[2] Throughout the proceedings, Kuc demanded the death penalty (which is banned in Slovakia) and a martyr's death,^[3] which his attorney interpreted as signs of mental illness. After filing an appeal at the Kosice Regional Court (second-instance court in criminal proceedings), the court initially canceled the lower court's ruling,^[4] but after the County Court reviewed new psychological assessment submitted by Kuc's attorney, he was again convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. This time the appeal failed and the Regional Court upheld the ruling.^[5] Kuc filed an appeal at the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic but the court did not challenge the ruling. Having exhausted judicial options in Slovakia, Kuc submitted a petition to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which has yet to consider the case as of November 2015.^[6]

References

1. "Bomba s klincami v Košiciach zázrakom nikoho nezranila". Korzar. December 29, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
2. "Košického teroristu odsúdili na 25 rokov väzenia". Korzar. June 19, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
3. "Košický terorista žiada trest smrti". Korzar. January 24, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
4. "Krajský súd zrušil rozsudok nad Košičanom za terorizmus". Korzar. October 30, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
5. "Košickému teroristovi potvrdil krajský súd 25 rokov". Korzar. October 9, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2015.