Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Annex
The Case of Hedviga Malinová breeding ground for extremists’ views. The innocent student involuntarily became the symbol of a mendacious Hungarian, although more and more evidence seems to indicate that this symbol was deliberately fabricated by those who need to have a counterargument ready against ethnic Hungarians. But this seemingly never-ending case also has far-reaching consequences for the entire society. It shows that government’s law enforcement organs (i.e. the police and prosecution) have little respect for the law themselves, that politicians are allowed to say anything and act as they please and that extremists are allowed to insult minorities’ members - all this with impunity. The politicians who vehemently declared three years ago that the attack had never taken place and cited one piece of ‘evidence’ after another to disprove assertions by Hedviga Malinová have remained silent ever since it turned out they had lied themselves. They did not show any indignation over abusive video clips and refused to take decisive measures even when law enforcement organs faced accusations of having violated the law, either because they are involved in the case in a not-so-seemly fashion or because the current state of affairs suits them just fine. Silence implies acceptance of giving bad names to Hedviga Malinová, ethnic Hungarians or anybody for the sake of achieving political goals while impunity is guaranteed in advance. The only question is whether those who let the genie out of the bottle realize its true proportions? Notes ] “Nyitrán megvertek egy magyar diáklányt” [‘Hungarian Student Battered in Nitra’], Új Szó, August 26, 2006. 2 Interrogation transcript No. ČVS-ORP-810/OVK-NR-06. 3 “Tiltakozás Nyitrán” [‘Protest in Nitra’], Új Szó, August 31, 2006. 4 “Kaliňák: a diáklány kitalálta a támadást” [‘Kaliňák: Student Made up the Attack’], Új Szó, September 13, 2006. 5 “Hedvig és a rendőrség is ragaszkodik igazához” [‘Hedviga, Police Stick to Their Versions’], Új Szó, September 14, 2006. 6 “Szlovák védője van Hedvignek” [‘Hedviga Has Slovak Legal Counsel’], Új Szó, September 16, 2006. 7 “Roman Kvasnica pöstyéni ügyvéd képviseli Malina Hedviget” [‘Hedviga Represented by Piešťany Lawyer Roman Kvasnica’], Új Szó, September 19, 2006. 8 “Hedvigu Malinovú môžu stíhať za zavádzanie” [‘Hedviga Malinová May Face Prosecution for False Evidence’], TASR news agency, October 18, 2006. 9 Motion for criminal prosecution No. IV/IGn 2912/06. 10 “Hedvig ügy: irány az alkotmánybíróság” [‘The Hedviga Case Headed to the Constitutional Court ’], Új Szó, December 19, 2006. 11 “Kihallgatták Hedvig diáktársait” [‘Hedviga’s Classmates Questioned’], Új Szó, February 12, 2007. 335
