Hungarian youth sentenced to two years in prison for glorifying ISIS

Illustration. Photo: TEK/police.hu

On Wednesday, a verdict was delivered in the case of a young Hungarian man on trial for glorifying ISIS and incitement to war. Dominik T. had previously pleaded not guilty. He insisted that he had no intention of inciting anyone to commit acts of terrorism.

The arrest of Dominik T.

In October 2021, the head of the Counter-Terrorism Centre (Terrorelhárítási Központ, TEK), János Hajdu, announced the arrest of a Hungarian youth whose activities were linked to the Islamic State (ISIS). Hajdu also said at the time that the case was linked to the arrest in June 2021 of a young man from Kecskemét, Kende V. The man claimed to be an Islamist and was planning to commit several terrorist acts. The investigation of his messages revealed a conversation he had with the other man, Dominik T., 444.hu reports.

The accused was of part Algerian origin. His mother died early and he lived with his sick father and grandmother. He is very interested in news, politics and war conflicts, especially in the Middle East. He is passionate about weapons but does not consider himself an aggressive person, 444.hu writes.

Read also: Hungary supports increased EU arms supplies to Ukraine, no veto

He was identified with the help of the German police

Dominik T. is accused of publishing propaganda materials linked to the ISIS and Al-Qaeda that incite people to war. These were posted on an online platform based in Germany. German police noticed that a Hungarian person had also uploaded material between 2018 and 2019, 18 files in total. Due to their radical content, the service provider deleted them. However, the German authorities were able to save the files and forwarded them to the TEK. The Counter Terrorism Centre then identified Dominik T.

From his previous statements, the accused denied from the first minute that he supported the activities of the Islamic State and even condemned them. He said that he only visited sites linked to the terrorist organisation and downloaded videos glorifying the Islamic State because he was very curious. He admitted to downloading content about executions, but said he was simply interested in that as well as horror.

Read also: Fidesz MEP: we must learn from the Holocaust and reject discrimination

Dominik regrets searching for such content and swears to never return to them

Dominik T.’s lawyer stressed that practically nothing had happened in the past four years. He had not joined ISIS, he had not led a devout Muslim life, i.e. he had not been recruited at all, and he had not gained any followers or fans that he could radicalise.

The accused stated in his last speech that he still believed he had not committed a crime. He considers the last 16 months in custody as a serious learning experience and will never go near such content again. He even regrets that he ever searched for such content.

Read also: Cross-border transport will be sped up at Hungary-Ukraine border

The verdict: two years in prison

The Budapest District Court found Dominik T. guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison. His sentence will be reduced by the time spent in custody. He can be released with two thirds of the sentence and, since that is the amount of time he has spent in custody, he will not have to go back to prison if the final sentence is not more severe.

Both the prosecutor and the lawyer have appealed against the verdict, and the case will continue in the appeal court. Dominik T. is still at large.