The Hajdú-Bihar County Prosecutor’s Office charges the perpetrators and their accomplices with the more serious crime of kidnapping, and those involved in the abuse with the crime of grievous bodily harm.
According to the indictment, the victim owed 50,000 euros to two Ukrainian-Hungarian citizens who called the man to the parking lot of a department store in Debrecen on the evening of July 21, 2023. Here, one of them approached him and threatened to break his leg if he did not hand over his mobile phone and get into their car. The perpetrators transported the man to the house of their senior helper, and took his documents by force on the way. The man’s two adult sons and daughters also lived in the house of their helper, who knew about the crime, and all three helped the perpetrators.
The perpetrators took the victim to the garage in the yard of the house, where the younger perpetrator abused her with his fists, a stick and a metal baseball bat handed over by the girl. As a result, the man suffered injuries that took more than eight days to heal.
His captors then tied the man to his feet with a chain, and held him captive for days, while demanding that he pay his debts. They threatened to kill him and his family if he tried to escape. The two children took care of the man’s care and maintenance. The victim did not dare to stretch the chain and run away, because he was afraid of the threat and the fighting dog kept in the yard.
Two days later, the perpetrators took the man to an acquaintance, from whom he repeatedly borrowed a total of HUF 700,000, which was immediately converted into euros. The man also tried to ask his relatives for money, but they were not at home, so his captors took the man back to the house and chained him again.
A few days later, the perpetrators again took him to a friend, from whom he asked to borrow money. The man told his friend that he was in trouble, so when they went to pick up the borrowed money the next day, the man got into his friend’s car and drove away.
The perpetrators escaped, European and international arrest warrants are in force against them, while the helping father and his children were detained by the police and have been under arrest since the incident.
The Prosecutor General’s Office proposed in its indictment that the Debrecen Court of Justice conduct the proceedings in the absence of the two accused. The prosecutor’s office also proposed that if the accomplices admit to committing the crime, the court should sentence the father to 7 years and his children to 5 years in prison, and ban them from practicing public affairs for 7 and 5 years, respectively, and confiscate the means of abuse and detention.
The photos taken by the police show the place and means of detention.
