Young Athlete Tortured by Romanian Teammates for Being Hungarian

A young sportsman was abused by his fellow athletes at a training camp in Reșițai (Resicabánya), Romania, because of his Hungarian nationality, reports kronikaonline.ro.

Both the victim and the perpetrators are minors, only 15 years old. According to the description of the incident, the team was preparing for the European Championship, and was left alone for a while by their coach. In the meantime, two Romanian boys violated their Hungarian teammate, whom they tied to a radiator, made him drink alcohol against his will, and was subjected to imitations of sexual activity. The boy was then called “ungure” (“You Hungarian!“), an insult in Romanian. According to sources, no one intervened and prevented the abuse.

Legal experts say the perpetrators committed four offences: coercion, assault, sexual perversion, and abusing a minor.

The president of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation promised an investigation into the case and full transparency, but the case was not put on the agenda at the board’s latest meeting. The head of the National Sports Agency, Elisabeta Lipa, has officially requested a response from the Gymnastics Federation.

Hunor Kelemen, leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, also spoke out on the matter. In a statement, he expressed his condolences and assured the victim and his family of his help and support. He drew attention to the fact that the anti-Hungarian campaign of the AUR party, which has been going on for several years and has been tolerated by Romanian society without a word, leads to such cases. Mr. Kelemen stated that

in this case, no one can remain silent. Anti-Hungarianism must be repressed. This is our common responsibility and our common task. So far, and no further.”

The case has been referred to the National Council for Anti-Discrimination (CNCD), while the relevant police office has launched an ex officio investigation into the matter.

Via: kronikaonline.ro; Featured Image: Pixabay