Ahmed H tried to help his family flee Syria – now he faces life in a Hungarian jail

One summer's evening, last year, Ahmed was at home in Cyprus with his wife Nadia and their young children when he received the call that would turn his life upside down. "It was his mother calling from Syria," Nadia recalled.

"She told him there was a lull in the bombing of their town and that they were leaving. They needed help." The call set in motion a chain of events that would land Ahmed where he is today: locked in a Hungarian jail charged with an act of terror.

Whilst his elderly parents set off on the perilous journey to Turkey, with his brother, sister-in-law and his nieces and nephews, Ahmed prepared to put his life on hold and help them all reach safety in Europe. His command of English and Greek and his status as an EU resident would, he believed, help smooth their difficult journey.

A week after the phone call, Ahmed had sold his car and pick-up truck to raise money and travelled to Istanbul, where he had an emotional reunion with his family.

They found a people smuggler who would take them to the Greek islands on a rubber boat. Ahmed could have made his own way to the islands via regular routes but, since he was the only member of the family who could swim, he joined them on the dangerous crossing. From there, the family travelled up through (the former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia and Serbia, and caught sight of Hungary just as the border crossing was being closed.

On 16 September 2015 they were among hundreds of refugees stranded at the Röszke / Horgoš border crossing when clashes broke out with the Hungarian police. People attempted to break through the gate and border fence erected by Hungarian authorities. The police force responded with tear gas and water cannon, injuring dozens.

News footage taken at the time captured Ahmed using a megaphone to call on both the refugees and the police to remain calm but as the clashes intensified Ahmed admitted in court that he was involved in stone throwing.

Dozens were arrested that day, including Ahmed's father and mother, who is partially sighted. Ahmed's parents, along with eight others, were charged with "illegal entry" while participating in a "mass riot". They spent the next eight months in a Hungarian jail and were only released in July.

After their release, Ahmed and the rest of the family managed to make their way to a Budapest. At a train station there Ahmed was singled out, violently arrested and dragged away despite his relatives pleading with police to say he had their passports. Ironically it was the discovery of their passports in Ahmed's bag that Hungarian police used as part of the evidence to paint him as a "terrorist". He was charged with an "act of terror" along with the same charges that had been levelled against his parents.

Ahmed's case arises from a perfect storm of the Hungarian government's appalling assault on the rights of migrants and refugees and its turbo-charged draconian new counter-terrorism measures.

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