Conviction upheld for Syrian accused of terrorism for ’throwing stones’

Conviction upheld for Syrian accused of terrorism for ’throwing stones’
Hungarian appeal court on Thursday (Sep. 20) upheld the conviction of Ahmed H, a Syrian man sentenced to prison last November for “complicity in act of terror” during clashes with border guards at the Serbia-Hungary border in September 2015.

“After three years behind bars, this judgement comes as a devastating blow for Ahmed, his wife and his two young daughters.

“Ahmed’s absurd conviction has nothing to do with justice but instead plays into the hands of the Hungarian authorities’ demonisation of refugees, migrants and those seeking to protect them.

“By blatantly misusing terrorism-related provisions and riding roughshod over the law, this verdict exemplifies the erosion of the rule of law and human rights protections in Hungary.”

The court today upheld the terrorism charge but reduced the jail sentence from seven years to five years.

Amnesty International delivered a petition demanding his release and signed by more than 100,000 people, to the Ministry of Justice.

Amnesty International said his actions can in no way be interpreted as terrorism. The human rights group said the hearing in Budapest is the first big test for the country’s judicial system since the European Parliament voted last week to sanction Hungary over its record on fundamental rights.

The defendant, named as Ahmed H., was living in Cyprus at the time of the alleged offense. In the summer of 2015, he travelled to the Balkans to help his elderly parents and other family members as they fled the war in Syria. Like hundreds of thousands of other migrants and refugees, they were making their way from Turkey to Greece, through the Balkan states, trying to reach Western Europe.

Their journey was halted at the Hungarian-Serbian border as authorities closed the crossing. Ahmed took part in protests that erupted at the border

"He threw a few stones and he urged the police to let the refugees and migrants who had amassed there cross through to Hungary," said Eda Seyhan of Amnesty.

"Hungary is going to be condemned because the Hungarian people have decided that this country is not going to be a country of migrants," Orban told EU lawmakers.

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