BUDAPEST, March 14 (Xinhua) -- A Hungarian tribunal in Szeged gave a seven-year jail sentence to a Syrian man on Wednesday for "act of terrorism" perpetrated on the Hungarian border with Serbia in a clash between migrants and Hungarian police three years ago, in a procedure criticized by the European Union.
"In the course of the repeated procedure, the defendant, A. H., was found guilty as a co-perpetrator in the offense of an act of terrorism and in the offense of illegal border crossing, and sentenced to imprisonment for seven years as well as to expulsion from Hungary for 10 years. The accused may be released on conditional leave after the completion of two thirds of his sentence," the Szeged court said in a statement published on its official website Wednesday, adding that the sentence was not final.
Ahmed H., a 41-year-old resident of Cyprus for around a decade, has already received a ten-year term in November 2016, but a court of appeal in Szeged last June has annulled that first verdict in June 2017.
The court in southern Hungary has ordered a retrial, citing inconsistent evidence in the original trial.
During the legal procedures, Ahmed H. repeatedly rejected the charge of terrorist acts. He said that he just planned to help his family get away from war.
The Syrian man was arrested in Hungary in September of 2015 following the clashes. The prosecutors also claimed that Ahmed H. had thrown rocks at police, and given police an ultimatum.
In May 2017, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said that the Hungarian government would turn to international organizations over a European Parliament (EP) resolution, which condemned Hungary while exculpating Ahmed H. convicted of attacking Hungary.
According to the minister, the EP resolution on May 17, 2017 took stand by Ahmed H., an "aggressor" who allegedly threw stones, block of concretes and bottles at the policemen, rather than the Hungarian government.
Ahmed H. has indicated that he would appeal the verdict.
The verdict comes in the middle of an election campaign where Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seeking a third consecutive term. The campaign of his political party Fidesz has been built against immigration.
