Euro2016 – Hungary working on return of convicted soccer fan

Budapest, June 30 (MTI) – Hungary’s foreign ministry and its consular service in Paris are seeking ways to arrange that a Hungarian soccer fan convicted during EURO 2016 in France should be allowed to serve his sentence in his home country, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday.

French authorities sentenced the Hungarian national to six months behind bars for assault of a public authority representative after the Hungarian team’s match with Iceland in Marseille on June 18.

The case is complex since under international law the citizen of a country convicted over any crime has the legal option to serve the sentence in their home country if the term is at least six months from the actual date of the person’s return home, Szijjártó told a press conference.

In the current case, this option cannot be applied since the Hungarian fan has already started serving his sentence in France, he said.

Hungary now seeks to find a solution “through a flexible interpretation of international regulations,” he said.

Szijjártó noted that Hungary’s three temporarily consulates in Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille will continue to operate until the end of EURO 2016 to assist Hungarian nationals staying in France.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Guillaume Horcajuelo

Source: mtva.hu