The Prosecution Defends the Bigotry and Corruption

source: muttown.com

Tuesday’s hearing in the trial of the 15 associates of the Budapest Transit Company (BKV) saw an attack from the prosecution on a defendant’s testimony from the previous week.  Eva Horváth, the former BKV press officer, told the court in Kecskemét, Hungary last week that she was subjected to bigotry, threats of physical violence, and other controversial living conditions while spending three months in a Hungarian jail.  Horváth asserted that she was singled out by the guards because she never satisfied the interrogators, who allegedly attempted to coerce her into accusing Miklós Hagyó as the main perpetrator of financial crimes at BKV.

According to the prosecutor, János Homonnai, the prison guards never treated Horváth differently because she is Jewish.  Likewise, he claimed that she was never forced to consume Rivotril, a drug which is effective against epilepsy but can be used as a sedative, of which Horváth accused the prison guards.

Later in the hearing Ottó Lelovics, the fifth defendant and former communication consultant to Miklós Hagyó, presented a new calendar which was produced by BKK, the parent organization of BKV.  Although it was a bit futile, the effort was obviously an attempt to show the court that public funds are still being spent on various types of marketing strategies.  This, of course, is an attack on the prosecutions claim that BKV should not have spent on marketing and advertising campaigns because of their monopolistic position in public transportation. 

At the end of the day’s session, Prosecutor Homonnai gave a lengthy observation about the defendants’ testimonies.  According to him, the defendants have slanderously accused the interrogators of unethical coercion in addition to insulting the judicial system was claiming the trial is a show trial – a legal process that from the outset has already determined the guilt or innocence of the suspect(s).

On top of that, Homonnai defended Judge Mária Szívós, who has been under constant attack from the supporters of Miklós Hagyó and his associates.  Szívós was the signatory judge who had the final say on many of the defendants’ pretrial treatment.  That is to say, she determined if they would be placed in jail, under house arrest, etc.  Then, shortly after the current Fidesz government passed the new constitution, she was appointed to the Hungarian Constitutional Court – the supreme legal body.  Speculators have accused Fidesz and Szívós of working hand-in-hand on the BKV case, and the promotion, it has been presumed, was a reward for her track record of keeping the defendants in jail. 

Source: http://thehagyocase.wordpress.com/