1987. március (14-32. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
®sil 24/D little Ruise/Í Street, LONDONI, W-C.i • Tel. 01-4&O zi ze • G. Krassé 16/1937 /E/ 4th Mareh, 1987 Message to the Amnesty International Pour young persons írom Budapest - the friends of the arreated Zsolt Keszthelyi - have sent the following message to organisation of the Amnesty International today: To: Amnesty International London Dear Amnesty International, We are asking fór help fór our friend, Zsolt Keszthelyi, who in Pebruary 1937 refused a call fór military service. He refusea out of political conviction. Por this reason he was arrested on the 25th of Pebruary, the day of his call up. The trial of his case was postponed after the 29th of March. Zsolt didn’t want to create the impression of cooperating, therefore he did nőt appear even on the military registration procedúra which took piacé on the 3rd of Pebruary. On tne 4th of Pebruary after 4 pm the police searched his hotne which lasted in the night. The police confiscated and took away several illegal publications including the first issue of a paper which he was editing and which was being prepared fór publication. In it he called, among other things, fór a solidarity with the conscientious objectors. Already that same night, in direct connection with this event, a house-search was conducted at the editor of another samizdat paper and things were seized there too. Our Zsolt, having rejected the call up order which was to take effect on the 25th of Pebruary sent his military registration document back to the army staff supplementary command and he attached the following declaration about his political conviction: "I, the undersigned Zsolt Keszthelyi, hereby declare that I wish to refuse military service because of political motives. I am nőt inclined to pút my trust in a ,people’s democratic’ army which is nőt placed under the control of a government elected by universal suffrage involving competing political programs. I think that by this action, just like by my struggle fór a free press, I can contribute to the creation of a society which is free of fear and in which the management of social affairs is determined by the responsibility and conscience of individuals and nőt by unquestioning faith and fear. If there is no other way I am ready to throw in my lót with those conscientious objectors who, due to their decision of conscience, have been sentenced to prison during the ,people’s democratic* periods of the pást 40 years having penalties designed to deny true constitutionalism. - Zsolt Keszthelyi." We consider as important to emphasize that his case will be tried by the military court in chamber, separately from tne cases of those refusing army service on the basis of conscientious objection. In view of the 3everity of the expected sentence we are asking you to send, if possible, an observer to follow the trial on the scene. According to our information the trial will be held after the 29th of March. Owing to the political reasons behind his case we are afraid that his case is placed in somé umprecedented category and therefore we can expect help fór his case only from a Joint international effort. Yours faithfully, On behalf of the VÖK HUMAŰA Circle Kikolta Bognár, Gyula Bartók, Budapest, 4th of March, 1987. József i'alata, Béla Gondos.
