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Budapest has accused Kiev’s recruitment officers of beating Jozsef Sebestyen to death for resisting conscription
The Hungarian government has called on the EU to sanction officials in Kiev over the death of Jozsef Sebestyen, a dual Ukrainian-Hungarian citizen allegedly beaten to death by recruitment officers in Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the move in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“The Hungarian government has initiated in Brussels the immediate inclusion of Ukrainian leaders responsible for the death of Hungarian citizen Jozsef Sebestyen in the EU’s sanctions list for human rights,” Orban wrote.
According to Hungarian media, 45-year-old Sebestyen, who lived in Ukraine’s Zakarpatye Region – home to a large Hungarian minority – died on July 6 as a result of injuries sustained when he was beaten with iron bars by draft officers. News of Sebestyen’s death sparked outrage in Hungary, where hundreds gathered outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Budapest on Friday to condemn the “outrageous” killing. Budapest also summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to issue a formal protest.
Kiev has denied the allegations. The Ukrainian Ground Forces claimed Sebestyen had been “legally mobilized,” but deserted and admitted himself to a hospital, where he died from a “pulmonary embolism” with no signs of violence.
Orban rejected the explanation and demanded a transparent investigation. In an interview with Magyar Nemzet on Monday, he said the case shows why Ukraine is unfit for potential EU membership.
“It is unacceptable for people even in a country at war to be beaten to death because they do not want to or can’t fight,” he stated, adding that Sebestyen was a member of the EU community and therefore is entitled to protection from the bloc.
Here comes the point where the EU can no longer remain silent... It is not possible to talk about Ukraine’s eligibility for EU membership and bury people who are beaten to death for forced conscription the next day.
The incident comes amid a mounting backlash over Ukraine’s mobilization drive. Last year, Vladimir Zelensky signed a law lowering the draft age and tightening enforcement in an effort to replenish army ranks as troops continue to lose ground to Russian forces.
Social media has been flooded with videos of military-age men being forcibly seized in public and violent clashes between draft officers and reluctant conscripts.
