The Central Prosecution Service has charged a young Hungarian man with no criminal record with attempted, pre-meditated murder perpetrated against multiple individuals acting in official capacity and explosive violation in connection with the Teréz körút blast, Chief Prosecutor Imre Keresztes announced at his Thursday press conference in Budapest.
Mr Keresztes said: the young man who was apprehended on Wednesday has filed a complaint against both his prosecution and custody. At the same time, however, the prosecution service will initiate his pre-trial detention. He added: the man exercised his right not to make a statement.
He further reported that, based on the available video footage, the suspect committed the crime alone, and during the course of the investigation, no circumstances emerged that suggested that he may have caused the blast as a hired assassin.
The head of the Central Prosecution Service stressed that the investigation is still ongoing, it has not been concluded yet. In the present phase of the proceedings, the evidence cannot yet be disclosed and evaluated. He said: they carried out and continue to carry out the investigation in cooperation with the Operational Police National Bureau for Investigation (KR NNI).
According to Mr Keresztes’s information, right from the beginning, they explored all options in connection with the blast, and this work continues also at present: there are a number of circumstances that have yet to be substantiated and investigated. He pointed out at the same time: there are several items of compelling evidence against the apprehended man, and the fear that the suspect may commit further similar crimes was not unfounded.
It is therefore reassuring that the suspect is now in custody, he remarked.
Chief Commissioner of the Police Károly Papp informed the press that the condition of the police officers who were injured in the blast is continuously improving, and it is to be hoped that within a few months they will be able to return to their service duties which they have fulfilled in a highly dedicated manner also to date. All necessary post-treatment is available, he added.
The Lieutenant-General said: some one thousand reports have been received in connection with the case. They did not „put aside” a single one of these, they verified each and every one of them.
The police chief thanked the co-agencies for their cooperation, and indicated: the National Police Headquarters continue to provide the human resources and technical equipment necessary for the investigation of the case for the prosecution service.
János Hajdu, Director General of the Counter Terrorism Centre told the press that the accused had been apprehended in Keszthely. The Major-General stressed: the operational units of the Counter Terrorism Centre intervened in multiple locations nationally, but it is not true that all of these interventions were related to the crime committed at Teréz körút. He mentioned as an example that they apprehended an armed perpetrator in the vicinity of Bátonyterenye, they detained a mentally disturbed person near Gyál, and they made an appearance in Szolnok on account of a military exercise to be held next week. These were not related to the operations conducted in South-West-Hungary on Wednesday afternoon.
János Hajdu said: Károly Papp personally shared information with the Counter Terrorism Centre on Wednesday which permitted the target person’s apprehension in the afternoon hours.
They apprehended the presumed perpetrator at 4.19 p.m. in Keszthely, the man was sitting in his car in an area sealed off from traffic on the promenade on the shore of Lake Balaton.
After his apprehension, the suspect was subjected to a medical examination. He had neither any injuries, nor any medical complaints. Afterwards, bomb disposal experts examined his car. Following this, a building was inspected in another locality as a dual operation: bomb disposal experts secured the location while the operational units entered the building „where they found no other target person”. The presumed perpetrator was then transported to Budapest.
Imre Keresztes said in answer to the question of the Hungarian News Agency MTI as to whether he is able to confirm the former statement to the effect that the blast was aimed at the police: the recordings that show what actually happened are available to the public. „It is perfectly obvious whom the perpetrator targeted.”
He disclosed no further details regarding the suspect, saying that he said as much about him as was possible under the circumstances at present, while he is unable to disclose any additional information regarding the suspect’s identity. He said: the person in question is a Hungarian national, has no criminal record and does not reside in Budapest. He added: there was no precedent to suggest that the suspect was capable of such an act.
The chief prosecutor did not mention whether any further explosives had been located in connection with the suspect during the course of the house searches. He only said that they obtained a large number of items of evidence, remarking that the experts concerned worked day and night in order to make progress in the investigation. He stressed at the same time that neither the investigation, nor the individual items of evidence are in the public domain, and therefore the chief prosecutor likewise did not respond to the press reports to the effect that the DNA of the suspect’s mother led the authorities to the suspect.
Regarding the detonator device, Mr Keresztes confirmed that it contained nails, its power was evident from the recordings as well. In answer to the question as to whether the suspect had any specific skills or training concerning explosive devices, the chief prosecutor said: „all I can say is that he made it, and it worked”.
In answer to another question he said: when the suspect emerged on the radar of the authorities, they apprehended him within the shortest possible time „in order to prevent a similar crime because that would have been unbearable”.
In answer to MTI’s question, Mr Papp said: the finder’s fee offered in the case of the Teréz körút blast need not be paid, the staff members of the Operational Police National Bureau for Investigation located the suspect as a result of conventional investigative work. He added: once the prosecution service notifies him that the maintenance of the finder’s fee is no longer required, he will take action for its withdrawal.
Regarding the suspect’s limited punishability on account of his mental state, chief prosecutor Imre Keresztes said: the suspect has only just been accused, but as in all cases of such gravity, it may require further investigation to determine this.
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There was a blast in a ground-floor store on Teréz körút in the 6th district of Budapest on the night of 24 September. Two members of the police were injured, one of them critically. The National Police Headquarters informed the press on 18 October that the two injured police officers were released from hospital, and they are now receiving rehabilitation treatment.
Chief Commissioner Károly Papp said after the blast: the patrol officers were the target, „they wanted to execute my police officers”. He said: the Operational Police National Bureau for Investigation instituted an investigation due to attempted murder in the case. Hundreds of police personnel took part in the investigation who also cooperated with the Counter Terrorism Centre and the civilian secret services. The Chief Commissioner offered a HUF 10 million finder’s fee in the case.
With regard to the fact that the attack was committed against police officers, the investigation was taken over by the Central Prosecution Service which appealed to members of the public on multiple occasions, asking them to make any recordings they may have available in order to assist the investigation. The Interior Ministry created a dedicated website for the purpose, while the authorities released further and further photos of the perpetrator and asked the witnesses who may be seen in the video footage to come forward. In response to the appeals, the investigating authorities received hundreds of information reports, and they were even able to ascertain on the basis of the recordings that the presumed perpetrator changed his clothes after the blast.
(MTI)
