On Thursday, Hungarian portal atv.hu reported that the previous day migrants at the Körmend migrant reception centre “kicked in” the full-height window of the neighbouring police academy’s sports hall. According to the report, the incident occurred after migrants “started staring at a training session of the junior female handball team, and when the officer in charge at the school asked them to leave, one of the men kicked in the window”.
Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said that the Police have started an investigation – as instructed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – but every detail of the case needs to be investigated. The aim of the ongoing investigation is to find out exactly what has happened in Körmend, Mr. Kovács said, adding that “the only thing which is certain is that there was an incident”.
Mr. Kovács was asked whether these events could lead to the reception centre in Körmend being converted from its current open status to a closed centre. He said that in this case EU and Hungarian legislation applies: only migrants who have broken the law – for example, by crossing the border illegally – may be placed in closed centres.
In a special press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the Chief of Police of Vas County János Tiborcz announced that no act of violence which can be linked to migrants has happened in Körmend, and that reports by the online portal are unfounded. Mr. Tiborcz said that a window in the police academy has indeed been broken, but there is no evidence that it was deliberately damaged by migrants. At present there are no suspects in the investigation being conducted.