There were reports of ill-treatment of detainees by police officers, resulting in death in one case. In January Budapest Municipal Court sentenced two former members of the militia to five years' imprisonment for firing on demonstrators in Salgotarjan in 1956 when 47 people were killed. These were the first convictions for gross human rights violations committed during the suppression of the 1956 uprising (see Amnesty International Report 1995). There were reports of ill-treatment by police officers. Some of the victims appeared to have been subjected to such treatment because they were foreigners or Roma. In April in Kunszentmiklós, Farkas Géza, a Rom, was arrested by two police officers after he tried to assist a handicapped Rom who was being questioned by the police. Farkas Géza was reportedly punched, kicked and beaten with a rubber truncheon, in the police car as well as in the police station. A doctor was called in to stop heavy bleeding from a cut on his face, an injury resulting from the beating. Farkas Géza made a complaint about ill-treatment, which was investigated, and he was also charged with assaulting police officers. In June Stefan Vasile Chis, a Romanian citizen, was arrested in Budapest on suspicion of theft and taken to Third District Police Station. He was reportedly made to stand against the wall with legs spread apart and was kicked from behind in the genitals three times. After he fell to the ground he was repeatedly kicked and beaten. The next morning, after his release, Stefan Vasile Chis was admitted to a hospital where he underwent a urological operation. He remained in hospital for 10 days. In July Almási László died as a result of a severe beating by police officers who searched his home in Pásztó. One police officer was arrested and three others were suspended from duty pending an investigation. In the same month in Marcali, three police officers allegedly beat 18-year-old Fehér Gábor following a traffic accident. After his release from the police station, Fehér Gábor received hospital treatment for concussion and bruises on his hands, feet and chest. Police officers claimed that Fehér Gábor's injuries were caused by an accidental fall following their attempt to restrain him and accused him of assaulting them. In September Marius Carniciu, a Romanian citizen, and Gianfranco Palidori, an Italian citizen, were stopped and allegedly ill-treated by police officers in Budapest. Marius Carniciu refused to pay a fine for not using his safety belt and took his passport back from the officer who allegedly then started to punch and kick him. The officer handcuffed Marius Carniciu's hands behind his back and continued to beat him, shouting racial abuse. The other police officer slapped Gianfranco Palidori on the face and punched him in the chest. Marius Carniciu was slapped and kicked again at the police station. Both men were released the following day without being charged. A medical certificate described multiple lesions and bruises on Marius Carniciu's body consistent with beating. Amnesty International wrote to the Hungarian authorities urging them to initiate thorough and impartial investigations into cases of ill-treatment which had been brought to their attention and to bring to justice anyone found responsible for human rights violations.

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