Márton Gulyás, who had procured the paint cans, was sentenced to 300 hours of community work.

The court annulled a probation sentence he had been given earlier by another court, also for rowdy behaviour. Gergő Varga, the co-defendant, was sentenced to 200 hours of community work.

The prosecution had requested suspended prison sentences for the defendants. The defendants’ attorneys had asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that their offences did not qualify as crimes.

“The squirting paint smeared the registered monument as well as the bodies and clothing of police,” Tibor Ibolya, Budapest’s prosecutor, said.

Two cans hit the wall and caused damage worth 23,000 forints (EUR 74) to the building, the statement added.

The suspects will also face charges of rowdy behaviour.

On Monday, participants in the spontaneous demonstration protested against President János Áder’s signing a contested higher education amendment seen by opponents as aimed against Budapest’s Central European University.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Balogh Zoltán