Tag: Ahmed H.

Ahmed H.’s trial, act two

Freedom for Röszke 11from Free the Röszke 11

Ahmed H.’s trial, act two – 2nd instance court decides Ahmed H.s terrorism charges need to be re-consider due to “lack of reasoning and interpretation”

Two days ago, on the 15th of June 2017 in Szeged, Hungary, Ahmed H. had his second instance trial, after being sentenced to 10 years of prison on the 30th of November 2016 for committing an “act of terrorism“.

The prosecution, obviously, emphasized that the first instance hearings followed European law guidelines. They demanded a higher sentence for Ahmed H., close to 17,5 years. The new lawyer, P. Bárándy – former minister of justice of the socialist-liberal coalition – seemed well prepared and questioned many contradictory interpretations of the first instance judgment.

The defense argued that the verdict is faulty, using “special” words to create a “certain” atmosphere, containing non-relevant information (for example Ahmed H’s religious affiliations) and that “there are about 200 technical errors”. The evidence, according to the defense, was used selectively to support the argument of Ahmed H. being a terrorist.

The judge decided to refer the case back to the first instance court, claiming that although the evidences were properly established, there was a lack of reasoning and interpretation. The judge also suggested, that the first instance court needs to set up if Ahmed H’s acts (especially the alleged stone throwing) were a “deliberate attempt of forcing the state” or an act of “despair” or “anger” in order to determine if the terrorism accusation is correct.

A couple of days ago, Orbán responded to the criticism of the EU parliament regarding the trial of Ahmed H., saying that “the obvious lies of Ahmed H.” are more important to Brussels than the security of Hungarians, since they ignore the “fact” that “Ahmed H. had seven passports and he convinced other migrants to break through the border.”

In the end it is necessary to doubt in the first instance court-decision and support the efforts of Ahmed H’s defense. But should we rest our hopes in the Hungarian legal system and believe in their independence? Didn’t the whole Röszke trials expose the Hungarian legal system as the willing servant of the government’s ambitions? We think that the “new” first instance trial will be as much dependent on the political atmosphere as the previous ones. In the end it is not a question of “law” and “objective reasoning” but rather a political struggle. We believe in a world of equality, dignity and freedom for all. We will keep on fighting until Ahmed H. is free and we will not fall for the attempts of creating a fiction of legality.

P.S.
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