“This should not happen in Europe”: the President of Hungary wrote to the family of a compatriot killed by military enlistment officers in Ukraine

Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok has written a letter to the family of József Sebestyén — a resident of Transcarpathia and a Hungarian citizen who died after being brutally beaten with iron rods by Ukrainian military enlistment officers (TCC) for refusing to serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The message was published by Sulyok on Facebook.

In the letter, the Hungarian president wrote that he had learned of the 45-year-old man’s death with deep sorrow and, on behalf of all Hungarians, expressed sincere condolences to his family.

“This cannot happen in Europe. It completely contradicts all human values that our continent, having endured so much, has consistently upheld for centuries and that the peoples of Europe have recognized as their own,” the letter reads.

“Every Hungarian life is a unique value for our nation. Therefore, the loss of any Hungarian in their prime is also a national tragedy,” he added.

As a reminder, Hungary’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador the day before, issuing a protest over the killing of a Hungarian citizen in Transcarpathia by TCC personnel.

The death of 45-year-old József Sebestyén, an ethnic Hungarian and citizen of both Ukraine and Hungary, has shocked not only Transcarpathia but all of Europe.

The man died after a brutal beating at a Ukrainian enlistment office (TCC) in the city of Berehove, where he was forcibly taken by military authorities for “data verification.” He died in hospital a few days later from his injuries.