November 6, 2025

After being held for over a day, the students of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education who had been detained on  November 4 at the Berehove/Beregszász District Recruitment Office were released. The case sparked significant domestic and international outrage, prompting an official statement from the county recruitment command.

Detention of the Students

To comply with their legal obligations, four students from the Hungarian higher education institution in Berehove visited the recruitment center to update their military registration data. The routine visit took an unexpected turn when the young people were not allowed to leave and detained onsite for over 24 hours.

Political and civic figures were the first to respond. Viktória Ferenc, a Transcarpathian-born Member of the European Parliament, called the incident “kidnapping” in a video message. The leadership of the Cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Subcarpathia (KMKSZ) issued a statement protesting the detention of the students.

The university’s leadership emphasized that full-time students are entitled to military exemption, raising questions about the legal basis for their detention.  

Statement by the County Recruitment Command

In response to considerable public attention, the county military recruitment command released a statement on November 6 acknowledging that three students and one teacher had been held. According to their explanation, three individuals of conscription age did not possess a valid military medical examination document.

However, the statement did not address why it was necessary to restrict their personal freedom for such an extended period of time given the student exemptions, nor why the required examinations could not have been scheduled voluntarily for a later date.

Protests and Legal Concerns

According to the KMKSZ, the actions of the recruitment authorities violated Ukrainian law, emphasizing recruitment command centers have no authority to detain conscription-aged individuals without proper legal grounds. The organization sent letters to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, the Human Rights Commissioner, and the Transcarpathian Regional Military Administration, requesting a full investigation into the incident.

Placing the issue into a national context, it is important to note that, according to Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, the number of legal aid requests related to recruitment office abuses has risen sharply across Ukraine.

Questions Remain

Although the students were released, the case leaves several legal and procedural issues unresolved. It remains unclear whether the recruitment office’s actions complied with current legislation and whether procedural reforms are needed to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Further investigations are expected to clarify whether the detention was justified and what implications the case may have for the functioning of Ukraine’s military recruitment system.

Sources

• MTI reports
• Vasárnap.hu: This Will Lead to Trouble — KMKSZ Protests the Detention of Several Students from the Rákóczi University by the Ukrainian Recruitment Office
• Statements by the leadership of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education
• Video message by MEP Viktória Ferenc
• Information from the office of Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets

Please follow and like us: