Syrian given 10-year sentence for terrorism following 2015 border incident

A Syrian man who lives in Cyprus was sentenced on Wednesday to ten years in jail by a court in Szeged, South Hungary, near the border where the incident took place.

The court found Ahmed Hamed guilty of playing a leading role in a fight at the Serbian-Hungarian border on Sept. 16, 2015. The court found he had repeatedly shouted at police to open the border using a megaphone, broke through the fence, and threw several rocks at police. He also entered Hungarian territory illegally, according to the court.

The attempt to enter the country illegally and violence against police qualify as acts of terrorism under Hungarian law.

Hamed denied being a terrorist, pleading not guilty to the charges, and said he merely wanted to help his relatives to safety and when he was not allowed to enter the country legally, he entered illegally. He claimed that he had not participated in the disturbance.

Hungarian and foreign activists demonstrated in front of the court, demanding he be released.

Both the prosecution and defense have appealed.

Meanwhile, the Fidesz Party, the leading government party, issued a statement expressing its satisfaction with the verdict, saying that all migrants needed to be aware that if they wanted to enter Hungary they must do so legally, respecting Hungarian laws and authorities.

Fidesz said the government had acted appropriately in building a fence on the border since it has been verified that mass migration was putting European security at risk with a constant threat of terrorism and regular terrorist attacks.

Fidesz called for taking all measures needed to prevent migrants from being settled in Hungary. At the same time, it warned that the European Union Summit in Brussels in December would probably again try to force a mandatory settlement of migrants in the country. Endit