A complaint has been filed on suspicion of incitement against a community and a risk to national security after Hungarians living in Transcarpathia received phone threats, according to information obtained by Magyar Nemzet. Istvan Tenyi, known for his complaints in the public interest, reported the case to three authorities: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Constitution Protection Office.
„"We'll chop you up, Hungarians!", "Flee fast, traitors!", "Hungarians are parasites!", "Get out of Ukraine!", "Whoever doesn't run will be the first one!"
read the threats many Transcarpathian Hungarians received in text messages and via the Telegram messaging channel on Monday, as Magyar Nemzet reported earlier.
The messages all included the same image: a hooded, masked man with Ukraine's coat of arms on his chest and a huge knife in his left hand. He is standing on a map of Transcarpathia, pointing towards Hungary and masses of people are fleeing in that direction. The captions below the drawing are alternately in the Hungarian and Ukrainian languages. The knife is a recurring motif, as is the phrase "Get out, you b*tch!".
According to journalists close to the Ukrainian government, the messaging is a Russian provocation. The military administration of Transcarpathia said that the incident was a Russian information operation aiming to provoke hostility between the local ethnic minorities. The authority advises anyone receiving such a text message to block the sender.
In its brief statement, the authority did not distance itself from the incident and failed to promise to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Istvan Tenyi asked the authorities to investigate whether the incident poses a risk to national security. On the basis of the relevant provisions, he initiated an inquiry into the case and an investigation - with the involvement of the Constitution Protection Office - if needed in order to identify the possible perpetrators and establish a suspicion of criminal activity.
