A Portuguese man who travelled to Hungary to visit his partner following the birth of their child is facing prison after allegedly beating her stepfather so severely that the victim required life-saving surgery.
Came to witness the dawn of life, almost took one
According to the indictment, the defendant, a Portuguese national living in the Netherlands, came to Hungary to see his partner, who had temporarily returned to her home country for the birth of their child. She was living in a village in Borsod County with her mother and stepfather.
During the visit, the defendant and the older man began drinking together in the kitchen. They communicated through gestures as they didn’t speak each other’s language, but the situation eventually deteriorated into a loud argument. The Portuguese man allegedly slapped his partner’s stepfather, and the two began fighting before the victim was pulled to the ground.
The Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Chief Prosecutor’s Office has brought charges of attempted murder over the incident, which took place in October 2024. Prosecutors say the victim’s survival was down to chance, as the assault carried a genuine risk of life-threatening injuries.
The attacker even smashed a car window with a shovel
The confrontation briefly subsided when the victim and the woman’s mother went outside and got into a car. However, the defendant followed them. He allegedly threw a sack of corn at the vehicle’s windscreen before threatening, through gestures, to cut the older man’s throat.
The victim got out of the car and attempted to keep the Portuguese man at a distance using a shovel with a handle approximately 1.5 metres long. The defendant wrested the tool from his hands and used it to smash the car’s rear window.
The woman’s stepfather then tried to flee, but the defendant caught up with him in the yard. Prosecutors allege that he punched the victim repeatedly in the head with considerable force. After the man fell to the ground, the attacker continued kicking and stamping on him, including striking him in the ribs.
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Only the police could stop him, prosecutors seek prison sentence
The assault only stopped when police arrived after being alerted by family members. The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance, where he underwent emergency surgery followed by further surgical treatment. Prosecutors say there was a realistic possibility that he could have suffered life-threatening injuries, and that his death was prevented only by chance.
The Portuguese man has no previous criminal record. Nevertheless, prosecutors have requested a prison sentence and a ban on holding public office. They have also asked the court to rule that he should not be eligible for parole. The case will now proceed through the Hungarian judicial system.
