A Romanian citizen from Sambrias, Szasz Endre Istvan, was placed under preventive arrest for 30 days in Hungary, under charges of terrorism. Hungarian authorities describe Istvan as "part of a far-right movement that carried out attacks against socialist members of parliament." Police believe he was planning a bomb attack on the home of lawmaker Laszlo Esodi. For those unfamiliar with the current scene in Hungary, there have been a number of attacks by right-wing nationalists on liberal politicians. Istvan's name suggests he might be of Hungarian origin. If he was indeed planning such an attack, then he is part of an extreme nationalist movement in Hungary with irredentist claims to Transylvania.
The Romanian attaché to the Ministry of Interior in Bucharest, Ioan Bente, says the Romanian was arrested on May 15 in Hungary, under charges of terrorism. He was wanted by the police under suspicion that he held suspect materials. Bente believes Istvan did not act alone:
"Some one month ago, the Hungarian police unfolded some raids following several attacks (...) There was an investigations, there was a circle of suspects and the trail led to the home of Szasz Endre Istvan, where authorities found various materials. He wasn’t arrested then. Police arrested him Friday (May 15), while he was in a house in Budapest. The second day, police and the prosecutor presented the case before the court with a proposition for 29-day preventive arrest. The judge allowed the request, thus he is now under preventive arrest for 30 days," Bente explained.
Additional reasons to believe that Istvan was involved with Hungarian nationalist extremists can be found in a statement by Alin Serbanescu, spokesperson for the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Serbanescu told Mediafax "that the ministry has unfolded procedures for the identification of the citizen through the Romanian Embassy to Budapest, but Romanian authorities cannot intervene because the suspect has not issued a consular assistance request".
