Slovak Authorities Drop Probe into Critics of Beneš Decrees

03/07/2026 by hhrfAdmin

Just in: Police in Dunajska Streda/Dunaszerdahely, Slovakia, have dismissed the case against Dr. János Fiala-Butora, lawyer; Örs Orosz, politician; and Attila Stubendek, an engineer. On January 3, in an act of civil disobedience, the three ethnic Hungarian activists had “turned themselves in” to law enforcement after launching an online petition protesting the recent criminalization of free speech. [The December amendment to Slovakia’s Criminal Code makes it punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment to publicly question the post–World War II legal settlement, including the Beneš Decrees—the legal basis for the postwar and current day confiscation of property from ethnic Hungarians and Germans.]

According to the detailed police statement read aloud by the activists at their press conference March 6, the authorities concluded that the relevant Criminal Code provision is too vague to determine what conduct it is meant to sanction. The detective also stated that “he would have to determine what the possible crime is in this incident, but this is not an acceptable procedure.” The police statement further underscored that freedom of speech is a constitutional right that takes precedence over the Criminal Code.