The municipal court of Budapest released radical nationalist activist Gyorgy Budahazy, who is accused of terrorist activities, from pre-trial detention and into house custody on Friday. The prosecutor appealed against the decision, but this appeal will not delay implementation of the ruling. Budahazy will be placed in house custody until the municipal appellate court rules in the second instance. In his reasoning, the judge said it was uncertain how long the procedure would go on and suggested that its aims could be achieved through house custody rather than pre-trial detention. Budahazy’s lawyer had appealed for his client’s release, referring to an professional opinion stating that the defendant’s two young daughters had not seen their father for two years, causing them an irreparable loss. He added that his client loved his homeland and family and would not go into hiding to evade the proceedings. Budahazy had been in custody since June 2009.
He was arrested under charges of setting up a gang – the Hunnia Movement modelling itself on the Irish Republican Army – in early 2007 to carry out attacks against members of parliament, thereby exerting pressure on lawmaking. Later that year the gang allegedly fired shots and threw petrol bombs at the homes of lawmakers Istvan Hiller and Janos Koka, as well as making similar attacks in several locations in the countryside in February 2008. The group also threw Molotov cocktails at gay bars and outlets, such as a ticket office in Budapest’s 13th district. The court is expected to resume hearing Budahazy’s case in November.
Politics.hu
