1987. október (112-124. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
mi 24/D titti* Rw»»«/I Street , L 0 N 0 0 M, WC. t • T*l. 01-4*0 t< 24 • G. kras*<4 115/1987 (E) 9th October, 1987 Inhuman Treatment of Zsolt Keszthelyi in Márianosztra Prison Alarming news is arriving from Hungary concerning the fate of the imprisoned Zsolt Keszthelyi. Keszthelyi was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment fór refusing to do military service because of his political convictions. The "Zsolt Keszthelyi Committee" - Mikolta Bognár, Tibor Holczer, Károly Kiszely, Jenő Nagy, Tamás Perlaki and Miklós Gáspár Tamás - made the following announcement in Budapest about Zsolt Keszthelyi's situation (Keszthelyi is confined in Márianosztra prison): "Zsolt Keszthelyi, the conscientious objectOr, vas classified by the Hungárián prison administeration as a TOP SECURITY PRISűflER! VERY DANGEROUS CRIMINAL] This decision means that Zsolt Keszthelyi receives the most severe treatment meted out in Hungárián prisons* that is 12 hours of exceptionally hard forced labour a day and the restriction of visitors and post to every two months, which is just inside the allowed limits of International and Hungárián law. Keszthelyi who was pút in prison fór conscientiously refusing violence was placed amomg the most violent criminals. His cell mates humiliate him daily, they throw him to the floor, kick him under the bed and do nőt allow him to come out if they do they slam his head against the vall. They threaten him with sexual violence and with a 220 volt current which they say they will wire up to his iron bed. As these atrocities are nőt fatal the prison officers do nőt interfere in what happens in the cell. However the prison authorities use more subtle methods; the fundamental rights of the prisoners are granted as so—called favours, so that the granting or withholding of these rights is used as a means of manip- ulating and blackmailing the prisoners. Zsolt Keszthelyi fór example could nőt récéivé a single letter in prison which reported on the widespread intemational solidarity he had attracted, bút at the same time the prison censor passed on all those letters which - according to the authorities - contained unfavourable information about his case, fór example that many lawyers were disbarred from his defence, one of them even voluntarily withdrew despite a promise to represent him. This deliberate ploy by the censor unavoidably creates a distorted picture of reality fór a long term prisoner. Fór example they with- held somé of Tamas Perlaki’s letters because they contained political extracts. They later objected to musings on Hungárián history and finally they pút one of the letters intő a safe deposit box because they believed a note dealing with a TV weather report was politically suspect as they thought it was ironic. Zsolt Keszthelyi has to suffer the fact that he is nőt only a prisoner bút a military prisoner and the trials that he thus faces. As a military prisoner he can only be defended by a lavyer who appears on the seeret üst of the military attomeys department, his case is handled in secret and he has little or no chance to defend his rights. From his childhood Zsolt Keszthelyi has had a heart disease which runs in his family, due to complications he now has a goitre, which was discovered in the prison hospital. Keszthelyi’s situation in prison is deterioating because of the i*©rate policy of the prison authorities. So we can only conclude that authorities intend to break Zsolt Keszthelyi botb spixitually and phvsically. The Zsolt Keszthelyi Committee"
