IS terrorist suspect arrested in Hungary

Rapid intervention by Eurojust leads to successful outcome

22 March 2019

In a rapid intervention, coordinated by Eurojust, the Hungarian authorities have arrested a high-profile target suspected of committing terrorist activities in Syria, linked to the so-called Islamic State. Essential to the arrest was the exchange of crucial information by the Belgian judicial authorities to their Hungarian colleagues via Eurojust, the EU’s Judicial Cooperation Unit.

The operation was concluded quickly by Eurojust’s Hungarian and Belgian National Members, who worked on-call arranging translation and the sharing of information within 24 hours. This quick intervention prevented the imminent return of the suspect to Greece by the Hungarian migration authorities. The suspect had refugee status in Greece.

The 27-year-old Syrian national is suspected of active involvement in the killing of twenty persons. He was detained at Budapest Airport on 30 December 2018, and was imprisoned for using forged travel documents both for him and for his female partner. Due to the evidence from Belgium, the suspect can now be held by the Hungarian authorities on suspicion of committing terrorist activities.