Blindfolded and forced injection: MFA on the detention of Ukrainians in Hungary

Ukrainian citizens held in Budapest were held in handcuffs for 28 hours and transported blindfolded. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that during this, the Hungarian side grossly violated international rules.

This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

According to the agency, despite their witness status, the Ukrainians were held in handcuffs for almost 24 hours. During the transport, they were constantly blindfolded.

The detainees had their personal belongings, including phones, taken away. They were unable to inform their families, employers, or the Ukrainian embassy of their whereabouts. Most of the items seized during their detention were never returned.

One of the Ukrainians has a disability and requires a special diet and regular medication. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when his condition deteriorated, medical assistance was provided only after he lost consciousness.

The ministry also reported that a man with diabetes was forcibly administered the drug. After that, his blood sugar level rose sharply and hypertension began, so he had to be taken to the hospital.

The Foreign Ministry says that the Ukrainians were effectively left without any support. They were not allowed to use the help of a lawyer, despite their requests and the appeal of a hired defense attorney.

The Ukrainian Embassy was also unable to arrange for the consul to meet with the detainees, despite sending official requests.

In addition, Ukrainians were not given the opportunity to testify in their native language – they were communicated with in Russian.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that such actions violate the European Convention on Human Rights and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Ukraine demands that the perpetrators be brought to justice and the property of the state bank that was transported by Ukrainians be returned.

We will remind, recently the Hungarian authorities in Budapest detained seven Ukrainian citizens – employees of Oschadbank – and seized the money they were transporting. At the same time, the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban visited the anti-terrorist center on the day of the seizure of the Ukrainian collection vehicles. Later that day, the security forces of this unit seized a car with currency and gold.

Subsequently, seven Oschadbank collectors who had previously been detained in Hungary were deported from the country and returned to Ukraine . Meanwhile, the National Bank of Ukraine is working to return the cargo from the collector’s cars that were detained by the Hungarian authorities. The regulator called the incident a provocation without legal grounds.

In turn, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that the actions of the Hungarian side towards the collectors resemble situations that took place in Moscow in the 1990s . She also called on international partners to react harshly to the incident. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry reported that Ukraine may impose sanctions against Hungary .

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