Hungarians smuggling refugees to Austria convicted

According to vs.hu, the two Hungarian people smugglers received prison sentence, who transported 26 refugees to Austria in inhumane conditions at the beginning of June.

The prime accused, a 46 year-old man from Budapest was sentenced to two years, of which he must serve 6 months, his 42 year-old accomplice received 12 months of suspended prison sentence. The two suspects, who have already committed crime in Hungary, confessed which was taken into account as a mitigating circumstance by the court.

The two men were arrested in Eugendorf, Salzburg province on June 5. The police stopped the van with Hungarian license plates here and they found 26, mostly Syrian people in its 4 sqm-cargo. One of the refugees said they traveled 11 hours without stop, food and drink.

The two Hungarian men denied before the court that they would have transported the refugees in poor conditions. According to the prime accused’s testimony, who is engaged in transportation in Hungary, they were aware that the transport is illegal but he would have driven the car only from Graz to Eugendorf, he would have handed over the steering wheel someone else in the fast food restaurant parking lot of the settlement. He has likely received the commission by a Romanian man, vs.hu said.