Case Of Hedvig Malina A Human Rights Issue In Slovakia, Says Deputy PM

Budapest, April 30 (MTI) – The case of ethnic Hungarian Hedvig Malina is a human rights issue and implicates that any other individual in Slovakia could face a similar situation, the deputy prime minister responsible for Hungarian communities abroad, said Wednesday.

Zsolt Semjen said they welcomed the demonstration organised by the Roundtable of Hungarians in Slovakia civil umbrella organisation in support of Hedvig Malina in Bratislava Wednesday.

Malina suffered a beating by two skinheads in the town of Nitra in August 2006 — allegedly due to her ethnicity. Later on, she was charged with providing false testimony. Malina, who was a 23-year-old student at the time of the incident, took her case to the European Court of Human Rights in November 2007. The Strasbourg court approved the Slovak government’s apology in November 2011. Two months later the Slovak government expressed regret over the case. The prosecutor’s office, however, has continued investigation on the ground of false testimony.

Malina moved to Hungary with her family at the end of last year.

The Slovak chief prosecutor’s office raised charges against Malina at the Nitra regional court for alleged false testimony in early April. Semjen said in his statement that the demonstration serves to make the public in Slovakia aware that Malina’s case running now for eight years is first and foremost a human rights issue. It is in Hungary’s interest that every individual should live in peace in Slovakia and that the members of the Hungarian community should be able to thrive in their place of birth and have equal rights, Semjen added.

Malina, a Hungarian citizen since December 2013, is under consular protection by Hungary and will be provided any help in any future proceedings, Semjen said.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters