1988. szeptember (209-245. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
í <<H<S0N6AIMAN ^ ®m£ Editor: György Krassó * 24/D Little Russell Street * London, WC1A 2HN * Tel. 01-430 2126 (írom abroad 441-430 2126) 229/1988 (E) 15th September, 1988 No Decision is Reached by the Court in Vicéi*s Case This moming in an open council session in Novisad the Vojvodina Provinciái Suprerae Court tried Károly Vicéi the writer from Zenta. The 44 year old Hungárián writer was charged with "inciting nationality hatred" in February and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment by the Subotica High Court. The appeal was brought before the Provinciái Supreme Court. The President of the three-member crirainal council was Mihály Virág, the same mán who twelve years ago was a member of the council which sentenced Vicéi fór "spreading hostile propaganda”. People from Novisad Rádió, from the Szabad Szó (^Free Word”) newspaper and a few of Vicéi’s fellow writers were present at the hearing. Aleksandar Lojpur a Belgrade defense lawyer stated in his plea that the entire crimin- al proceedings, including the investigation and the dealings of the examining magis- trate and the court, were based on a series of violations of the law. This is in part confirmed by the judgement of the lower court, the defense was prevented from carrying out its work. The sentence itself was unfounded and defective: it was based on in- validated facts and regulations were misquoted in the summing up. The famous defense lawyer said that Vicei’s c.ase was part of the police terror adding that "The sentence was given in the name of the nation bút the nation opposes police terror". Both Lojpur and the other defense lawyer István Koncz from Kanizsa asked fór the accused to be aquitted. The charge was levelled by the deputy district attorney fór Vojvodina Province, who proposed a more serious sentence saying that the lower court had over- estimated the extenuating circumstances and had nőt adequately considered the aggrav- ating circumstances. Vicéi pointed out in his speech that the fact that this case had been initiated against him after he had instituted proceedings against the Min- istry of the Interior of the province had been omitted from the otherwise unbiased report of the documents of the case. By the end of the council session, held between 9-12 am, the court had nőt reached a decision. This will be delivered to the accused in writing. There are three options fór the outcome of the trial, and it will be determined to a great degree by internál political power relations. Serbian nationalists who wish to restrict the autonomy of the Kosovo and Vojvodina Province are holding a series of protests. The day before yesterday they depóséd the moderate president of the National Veterans Alliance, General Matic. However there are many who want to prevent the spread of nationalism even outside the neighbouring provinces. In Belgrade univer- sity’s Law Faculty fór exaraple ten lawyers formed a legal defense committee to defend those who have suffered contraventions of the law in Kosovo and Vojvodina. The fate of Karoly Vicéi, as he himself puts it, depends on the struggle of greater forces than himself. 'íf Subscribers can use or quote the Hungárián October newsletters in totál or in detail as long as the source is acknowledged.
