The Sziget Festival is over, but news are still coming in about the aftermath of the Budapest event. An influential man close to the government had his arm broken by police.

The man close to the government was thrown off the Sziget

More than 420,000 people were outside the Sziget Festival 2023. Among the performers were Billie Eilish and Macklemore, who said he wants to move to Budapest. After the Imagine Dragons concert, the huge crowd could hardly leave the festival area.

According to Blikk, the arm of an influential billionaire with government-close ties was broken by the police while he was being arrested near the entrance of the festival.

Witnesses report that the man resisted the police, and had earlier threatened to press charges, disarm the police, call celebrity lawyers and his relatives. Witnesses also said that a crack could be heard when the man’s arm was broken. The young entrepreneur was thrown out of Sziget by security guards for his scandalous behaviour prior to the incident. The police checked and ensured the legality of the ban. The man was heavily intoxicated, teasing and reportedly disrupting the entertainment of many.

“The show could have been over from there, if the guy had admitted that he had indeed gone a bit overboard that day, both with the booze and his scandalous, teasing, harassing behaviour. But we saw that instead of heading home, he started to tease the cops who were at the festival entrance. He wanted to report the people who threw him out, and then all the cops… He started to take photos with his phone as they were trying to get him to stop, which led to a nasty scuffle that ended in a wrenching of the arms. The Hungarian guy was out of his mind, driven by drinks,” said an eyewitness who asked not to be named.

Police response

“At 0:35 AM on August 13, 2023, a man approached the police officers of the Sziget Festival, who were involved in security duties, to file a complaint against the security guards who he said had removed him from the event without justification. The man had previously violated the event’s rules of conduct and refused to leave. The police told the man that he could complain to the head of the security company, while he could file a complaint at the nearby Óbuda police station.

The man complained about this and said he would report the police as well. In such a case, the police have a written reporting obligation and it was necessary to establish the man’s identity. Despite repeated requests, the man failed to identify himself and the police told him that he would be taken into custody. The man refused to comply with the lawful measure and, after being told to do so, the police used physical force, handcuffed him, took him to the police station and filed a complaint for refusing to produce identification.

The man was subjected to a breathalyser test, which showed a positive result. The man complained of arm pain and an ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital for further examination. A command investigation into the incident found the action to be lawful, professional and proportionate. The BRFK also informed the prosecutor’s office,” the police said.

According to index.hu, the patrols involved in the action fear that the entrepreneur, who has real political connections and influence, will use every means at his disposal to change the decision on their action, which they consider justified.