Acquitted protestors consider suing for compensation

The Budapest Court has acquitted four persons arrested for rioting in October, reports fn.hu. Norbert I. and three others (among them Balázs Molnár, editor-in-chief of extreme right portal kuruc.info) are considering suing for millions of forints in compensation, kuruc.info writes.

The four men were arrested near Deák Ferenc tér in downtown Budapest during an unannounced protest on October 23, and were locked up for rioting for four days on October 26.

The Budapest Court has decided that the Pest Central District Court made a mistake by punishing the men for rioting. It said that the right to assembly is a component of personal freedom, which the Republic of Hungary recognizes and protects. While exercising this right without advance announcement is not lawful, it does not constitute a crime.

The court also said that only the organizers of unannounced protests can be punished for misusing the right to assembly, not those attending the event. This means that - unless they violate a law - police may not arrest attendees of unannounced protests simply for being present.

Police have not issued an official response, but sources said they thought it "strange" that participants of events regulated by the law on assembly can refuse to follow orders given by police.

The National Security Office (NBH) warned citizens on its website after the riots in September that even peaceful protests can turn into a riot, and attendees - simply by being present - might become accomplices in a crime.

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