Strasbourg court strikes down sentence for police officer who shot '56 fighter

The Strasbourg European Court of Human Rights on Friday ruled that retired lieutenant colonel János Korbely did not break the law when he shot insurgent Tibor Kaszás during the 1956 Uprising against the Soviets.

In 2001 the Hungarian Supreme Court handed down a five-year prison sentence to Korbely for a crime against humanity. During the Uprising Korbely was commanded to restore law and order by police officers in Tata, after which an exchange of fire with insurgents resulted in three deaths.

The Strasbourg Court ruled that the Hungarian state had violated the European Human Rights Convention, according to which no punishment can be meted out if no crime was committed.

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