A Hungarian court on Wednesday sentenced a Syrian-Cypriot man to 10 years in jail his part in a riot at the border with Serbia last year, when he hurled rocks at police in an attempt to force the border open, deemed an “act of terror” under Hungarian law.
Ahmed Hamed, 40, broke into tears as a judge handed down the preliminary ruling. His was the longest prison term in the recent migration crisis, in which Hungary emerged as one of the toughest opponents of mass immigration.
Hamed was part of a group that crossed illegally into Hungary on Sept. 16 last year and also spoke to the crowd using a loudspeaker before hundreds of migrants forced open the border gate and police fired water cannon and tear gas.