Migrant sues govt for ‘wrongful conviction’

BUDAPEST (AA): A Syrian migrant is seeking damages from Hungary over what he says is wrongful detention on false terrorism charges, a judicial official said Friday. Syrian refugee Ahmed H. has sued the Office of the Prime Minister to pay him eight million Hungarian forints (nearly $29,000) in damages keeping him behind bars since 2015, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Ahmed H. was arrested in September 2015 amid a confrontation between the police and hundreds of irregular migrants waiting to cross into Hungary from Serbia in a bid to reach Germany. During the border incident, the Hungarian police blasted water cannons and teargas to breakup refugees who responded by hurling stones and glass bottles at the police officers.

Ahmed H. was slapped with seven years in prison and a 10-year ban in September 2018 for “illegal border crossing and carrying out an organized terrorist act”. His sentence was reduced to five years. On Jan. 11, a Budapest court ruled in favor of his release on probation after serving a required minimum two-thirds of his five-year term. He will be released on probation on Jan. 19.