Amnesty International: Hungary must protect Roma, minority groups

Hungary must do more to protect minority groups, said Amnesty International Tuesday after four people were convicted in the deaths of six Roma. A Budapest court handed down life sentences in prison for Zsolt Peto, and brothers Arpad and Istvan Kiss and 13 years for collusion for Istvan Csontos, who served as a driver for the group. The four were convicted of killing six people in 2008 and 2009, including a man and his 4-year-old son as they tried to flee their burning home, and a woman who was shot to death in her sleep. Amnesty International applauded the convictions, but said Hungary must do more to stem the violent hate crimes. "Five years after these cold-blooded killings, Roma in Hungary still do not receive adequate protection from hate crimes," said Jezerca Tigani, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia. "Today's verdict is a positive step, but Hungary has yet to learn the lessons from these killings. The authorities are still not doing enough to prevent and respond to violence against Roma," she added. "The government needs to introduce new measures to tackle hate crimes, such as procedures that clearly outline how such crimes should be investigated, police officers trained to recognize and investigate hate crimes and disaggregated data on hate crimes collected and made public."