Vandalism and shaming of lesbian couple on the streets of Budapest – VIDEO
The Budapest Police launched proceedings against the perpetrators in both cases.
This is not the first time that the stone cross on Margaret Bridge has been broken and stolen. At dawn on 4th May, two men arrived by electric scooters and stopped on Margaret Bridge.
Soon after, one of them broke the stone cross and took it with him.
The vandalism was also recorded by the surveillance camera.
The staff of the Budapest Police Headquarters ask anyone who recognises the men on the video, “has information about their identity, whereabouts or the crime” to report the incident, even if they remain anonymous, to the 24-hour hotline 06-80-555-111 or to the toll-free emergency number 112 – reported by the Hungarian news portal Origo.
Read also: Attention! These districts have the highest number of burglaries in Budapest
Meanwhile, a court verdict has been delivered in the case of the man who loudly insulted and then assaulted a lesbian couple walking hand in hand on Andrássy Avenue in July 2021.
The two women were walking along Andrássy Avenue in Budapest, embracing each other, when a man shouted at them, “You dirty faggots, get out of here!” The couple did not do so, but when they got closer to the shouting man, they tried to walk past him him. At this point, the man pushed them onto the parking cars and continued to abuse the women with obscene and abusive language.
The crime was brought to court six months after the complaint was filed. The Pest Central District Court sentenced the offender to one year and eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
According to a 2019 survey carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 11% of LGBTQI+ people in Hungary have experienced violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity since 2014 – reported by the Hungarian news portal Index.
This means thousands of homophobic and transphobic attacks per year, but despite this, only a few cases are prosecuted.
According to the company, the verdict is “swift and fair” that might serve as a significant deterrent. Ahead of the upcoming Budapest Pride Festival and Parade, it is perhaps even more important to emphasise that hate crimes against LGBTQI+ people will not go unpunished.
Source: origo.hu, index.hu