Romani Activist Sues Government Official in Hungary

10 July 2002

According to the Budapest-based daily newspaper Magyar Hírlap of June 17, 2002, earlier the same day, former Vice President László Kövér was ordered to pay 250,000 Hungarian forints (approximately 1,030 euro) to Mr Aladár Horváth, chairman of the Foundation for Romani Civil Rights, in a first instance decision of the Budapest City Court. On March 23, 2002, the Roma Press Center (RSK) reported that Mr Horváth had filed a complaint for defamation against Mr Kövér. Mr Horváth's action reportedly followed a March 18, 2002, pre-electoral public event in Tatabánya in north central Hungary, during which Vice President Kövér reportedly referred to Mr Horváth as a "gangster" and characterised him as a "subsistence Roma", implying that Mr Horváth had no interest in Romani issues aside from his own material wealth.

(ERRC, Magyar Hírlap, Roma Press Center)