Hungarian party Jobbik to challenge in court Romania’s ban on its members

Szavay Istvan, one of the Jobbik party members banned from entering Romania for a year, stated recently that party representatives will challenge this decision in court. He was supposed to attend a Jobbik forum in Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania, on Tuesday (March 25), but due to the ban imposed by the Romanian government, Szavay had a video intervention, reports the local media. He said that most likely, not only the Jobbik representatives will challenge the decision, but also the other two Hungarian citizens banned from Romania. Szavay Istvan added that he didn’t receive so far any official notice on the ban, and that he learned about the decision from the media. However, when he will be officially informed, he will challenge the decision at the Bucharest Court of Appeal. The Romanian Ministry of Home Affairs announced earlier this month that four Hungarian citizens, including two members of the Jobbik party and a Hungarian Parliament Member, have been banned from entering Romania for a year because of the risks they pose on public order. The four Hungarians are Tyirityan Zsolt – member of the organization Outlaws’ Army, Zagyva Gyorgy Gyula – member of Jobbik and member of the Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement HVIM, Szavay Istvan – member of Jobbik, and Mikola Bela – member of Hungarian Guard Movement. “Regarding these people, there are serious indications that they are part of structures involved in nationalist-extremist actions that present risks for public order and the national security of Romania,” said the ministry’s spokesman. The measure was taken to “prevent the occurrence of events that could seriously affect public order in Romania”. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com