We have been informed by the media (PrivatKopo.hu and NOL.hu) that the crime which was committed by the two Hungarian young men against a refugee – according to the information of the nol.hu – from Ivory Coast was a serious hate crime. The two Hungarians were beating the refugee from Africa with a stick. We were also informed by these sources that one of the suspects of the hate crime is a son of a local politician, who is a member of the currently governing party (Fidesz). According to the NOL.hu article which was published on 18 November, 2013, the crime is still only considered as a breach of peace with arms which is a much less serious crime than the violence against a member of a community (hate crime). For breaching the peace, the criminals can be punished with up to 3 years of imprisonment, if committed with arms, as these Hungarian suspects, whereas the offender of the violence against a member of a community can be punished by 2-8 years imprisonment, if committed with arms. According to both articles, the suspects are not in pre-trial detention, thereby still constituting a threat to the refugees of the Bicske camp.
We would like to ask the following questions from the Police Headquarters of Hungary:
Do the police still consider that the hate crime offenders only committed a breach of peace, and not a racist attack?
If the police still does not consider the attack as racially motived against the African person, is it because one of the suspects is the son of a local political, who is a member of the currently governing party (Fidesz)?
Are the suspects not in pre-trial detention, because one of the suspects is the son of a local politician, who is the member of the currently governing party (Fidesz)?
Thank you very much for the answers in advance.
Migrant Solidarity Group of Hungary