Hungarian police have paid 4.5 million forints (EUR 17,000) to a man who was hit by a rubber bullet and lost an eye during an opposition Fidesz party rally in October 2006, news portal Index.hu reported on Friday.
The amount was paid to Laszlo Nagy under an out of court settlement, Index said.
According to the portal, Nagy had attended Fidesz’s October 23 rally at Budapest’s downtown Astoria junction and was just about to leave when he was held up by a police cordon. “All side streets were closed down and police were attacking us from all directions,” he told Index in 2007. He also said that he had lost his consciousness and came to in hospital following an operation: a 15 millimetre rubber bullet had fractured his cheekbone and destroyed his left eye.
Nagy’s total demand is 15 million forints and an allowance to compensate him for the job he lost as a consequence of his restricted vision, and is ready to go to court, Index said.
On October 23, 2006, the 50th anniversary of the 1956 revolution, police clashed with anti-government demonstrators in Budapest’s streets. To quell the violence police used water-cannons, tear-gas and rubber bullets.
An investigating committee led by a top police officer published a report in July 2007 stating that police had acted lawfully but in some cases unprofessionally in quelling violent demonstrators the previous year.
