On the 30th of October and 2nd of November 2017 the Hungarian states’ trial against Ahmed H. went into the next round of seemingly absurd and endless rounds. Ahmed’s case is now back at the first court level, after the second instance referred it back to the first level for lack of consideration of contradictions in the evidence.
Originally published by FREEDOM FOR THE RÖSZKE11!
Note: Enough is Enough is not organizing any of these events, we are publishing this text for people across the US and Europe to be able to see what is going on and for documentation only.
Analysis – A Political Trial Can Never be a Fair Trial
On the 30th of October and 2nd of November 2017 the Hungarian states’ trial against Ahmed H. went into the next round of seemingly absurd and endless rounds. Ahmed’s case is now back at the first court level, after the second instance referred it back to the first level for lack of consideration of contradictions in the evidence. The court proceeded, going over the same testimonies of the same cops again and again, with no new witnesses or evidence. The only new thing in the courtroom was the judge. This time the judge did not play the role of the prosecutor or asserted Ahmed’s guilt from the start. For a change, he asked Ahmed questions and even let him answer, listening to his statements. So are we witnessing a fair trail now as some reports and monitors say? Is Hungary’s justice system functioning properly after all and will justice finally proceed?
The Fidesz government uses Ahmed as a scapegoat to criminalize migrants and to create an image of dangerous migrant-terrorists. It has therefore even invented the “Battle of Röszke” (with its own Wikipedia page), framing it as an epic fight where the Hungarian Police defended the country heroically against the “attackers”. Thereby it can frame itself as the defender of Europe and its Christian values. That criticism of European officials remains sparse and is in any case hypocritical is no surprise. EUrope is happy about the role Hungary plays with such pride. The more “civilized” countries of the EU benefit from the ongoing brutality Hungary exerts on migrants at its borders. And EUrope can point the finger at someone else, all the while an EUropean Frontex-mission operates on that very border. All this context is forgotten when we talk about ‘fairness’ in this current trial.
In the current court hearings we are witnessing how history is written through a silencing of the collective memory of previous struggles. Remembering and keeping strength to remind us and others is part of our everyday resistance. A political showtrial can never be a fair trial. We do not accept the fake fairness of a new trial with another ‘nicer’ judge, remembering the context of all the ongoing crime by the state, its created ‘terrorism-migration-connection’ and repression of solidarity actions.
Therefore we do not demand a fair trial for Ahmed. We demand the immediate release of Ahmed! Migration and protest is not a crime!
Ahmed’s next trial will take place in Szeged on 8th, 10th and 12th of January 2018, while the verdict is expected in February. Join us and show solidarity with Ahmed during the hearings!
Stop the show trial now!
Immediate Freedom for Ahmed!
Our equipment suffered a lot from traveling around Europe for our independent on the ground reports. We need new microphones for better audio on our video reports, a new laptop (the last one crashed) and have a lot of expenses for our on the ground reporting.
We want to stay independent and want to expand our work with on the ground reporting across Europe and even beyond. Therefore we need your support. Help maintain our site and continue our work. Your donations make our work possible.
We did and do a lot of on the ground reporting in Europe. On December 17 we will travel to Lesvos (Greece) and in January we will travel from Lesvos to Athens to report on the ground.
Each donation helps, also the small ones. Thank you for supporting the Enough is Enough project.
Crowdfunding campaign: https://www.youcaring.com/enough14novdec
You can also donate on our Paypal account: enough14@gmx.net
