Three German nationals wanted by Budapest police for violent attacks
Budapest police on Friday said they have issued arrest warrants for another three German nationals in connection with organised armed attacks against alleged participants of a far-right commemoration in the capital last month.
The Budapest Police Headquarters (BRFK) referred to the incidents as “Antifa attacks” in a statement posted on the website police.hu.
BRFK said earlier it was investigating assault and other crimes committed as a group against alleged participants of a far-right commemoration marking the anniversary of the Nazi breakout of the Castle District during the siege of Budapest on Feb. 11, 1945. It said the evidence gathered so far suggested that the perpetrators had attacked people unknown to them, whom they picked because they were wearing clothing indicating far-right views.
Police said that 7-8 people had carried out attacks using telescopic stun batons and knuckle dusters over a number of days in Budapest. Some attacked a group of Polish tourists, two of whom sustained grave injuries. In the other attacks, a man was assaulted on the outskirts of Budapest, a couple was beaten in downtown Pest and another, a German couple, in the Castle District.
BRFK said on Friday they are working in close cooperation with German police.
Two of the four suspects in the case, a German and an Italian national, have been taken into custody. A third suspect, also a German national, has been placed under criminal supervision and the fourth, a Hungarian national, is out on bail, BRFK said.
“The message is clear: we will not tolerate any attacks on people in the capital, whether they be on an ideological basis or not,” BRFK said, adding that they will use all legal tools at their disposal to identify the perpetrators and carry out the necessary procedure against them.
BRFK has already issued arrest warrants for another three suspects, all of them German nationals.