“The gravity of the charges against Hunvald were in themselves necessary but not sufficient conditions to hold him in custody the whole time,” the court said. Hunvald had filed for damages of over 32 million forints (EUR 106,000) on the grounds of loss of earnings among other reasons.

In February last year, the municipal court of Budapest sentenced Hunvald, a former Socialist MP and mayor of the city’s central 7th district, to 18 months imprisonment for his involvement in large-scale fraud. Hunvald has appealed against the ruling and his case will be transferred to the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court.

Hunvald was arrested in February 2009, and although he was put under house arrest in May last year, he spent much more in pre-trial detention than his term, so he would not have to go to prison were his sentence to become final.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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