It is shocking and unacceptable that the Department of State of the United States should comment on the judgements of Hungarian courts.

The US Department of State issued a press statement with regard to the case of the Syrian man who was given a ten-year jail sentence on account of acts of terrorism and other crimes. In the statement which was signed by Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner the US administration expresses concern on account of the sentencing of Ahmed H.

The Szeged Tribunal found the Syrian man guilty at first instance of the crime of terrorism committed through an act of violence perpetrated against persons for the purpose of the prohibited crossing of the border fence as the participant of a mass riot and the coercion of a state agency.

In the press statement, the US Department of State urges the Hungarian Government “to conduct a transparent investigation, with input from independent civil society groups, into the events at Röszke and to review the cases of Mr. Hamed and those similarly convicted. We will continue to follow the case of Mr. Hamed closely”, the statement reads.

It is strange that the US State Department that regularly lectures the world on the separation of the branches of power now calls upon a government to interfere with the affairs of the courts. This may well be possible in the United States, but it is certainly not in Hungary. Moreover, over here it is not so-called civil society groups, but the courts that decide on the fate of those who committed crimes, and this will continue to remain the case, regardless of whether the Department of State of the United States likes this or not.

To attack the Hungarian border and to conduct a siege against the Hungarian police personnel protecting the border for hours is a serious crime which calls for serious punishment. Hungary will never call the United States courts to account for sentencing terrorists who attack American policemen.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)