Politician condemned for violence
In December 2018, several opposition politicians threw pyrotechnics at the police during demonstrations against the government in front of parliament. At first instance, the Pest District Court acquitted András Fekete-Győr in May 2023, while the main defendant in the trial, another Momentum ‘activist’, was found guilty of using violence against police forces and sentenced to two years’ probation.
The Budapest Court of Justice changed this judgement in the second instance appeal hearing in February 2024 and now considered Fekete-Győr’s complicity to be proven. This earned the former chairman of the Liberal Party a suspended prison sentence. In the third instance, the Budapest District Court pointed out flaws in both court judgements. For example, the district court had – wrongly – still approved the use of pyrotechnics as a means of free expression.
Fekete-Győr reacted to the now legally binding judgement by resigning his seat as a member of parliament. As announced by Momentum, former MEP Katalin Cseh will take his place. Despite this, Fekete-Győr described himself as the ‘first convicted victim of a political trial in post-reunification Hungary because I protested against the inhumane slavery law in a way that did not please those in power’. He had been sentenced to prison by the regime, although he had not caused any injuries or material damage to anyone. The suspended sentence automatically entails the withdrawal of his parliamentary mandate, which is also unprecedented in Hungary since 1990. Fekete-Győr is continuing his political activities at the head of the party’s own foundation.