Evening star., 1949-02-09
Budapest0ffieiaIHi Hints
Appeal Court Will Not
GiveMindszentyDeath
By Endre Morton

i BUDAPEST, Hungary, Feb. g.
The comment of a Foreign Office
spokesman made it seem unlikely
today that the life sentence OF
Josef Cardinal Mindszenty will be
Increased to death by the appeals
court.
= The cardinal was found guilty
BY the Peoples Court yesterday OF
treason, plotting to overthrow the
Communist government and spec
talating in dollars on the black
market. His six co-defendants
also were found guilty on various
related charges and all but one
appealed.
:. The prosecutor also expressed
dissatisfaction with all but one of
The sentences-in effect an appeal
10 the higher court. There was no
indication when the appeals court
will act.
:. The official Foreign Office
spokesman, DR.. Ivan BoldiSZar,
Undersecretary of State for For
eign Affairs in charge of press,
said last night that on the treason
charge the death penalty is pro-
nounced under Hungarian law
only in wartime.
6 Simple Case of Arithmetic.
= The fact that he was given a
lie instead of death sentence on
the other two charges. was a SIM
BE case Of arithmetic, he indi-
gated. a.,
) He said the cardinal escaped
the death sentence only because
he had four extenuating circum-
stances in his favor against three
aggravating circumstances. The
spokesman said that if a defend
ants extenuating circumstances
outnumber the aggravating fac
tors the lowest sentence in each
category is provided by Hungarian
law-life imprisonment instead of
death. IS years in prison instead
Of life, and so on.
Presiding Judge Vilmos Olthys
in pronouncing sentence yesterday
said alleviating circumstances in
favor of the cardinal were his
confession and expressions of re-
gret at his actions, the fact that
he lived remote from the worlds
practical affairs, and that he was
misled by American Minister Sell
den Chaplin into believing the
United States would start a war
and this war would help him at
tain his aims"
Factors against him. the court
said. we're his high station in the
church. his high degree of educa-
ton and the accumulation of his
crimes.
In spite of the Foreign Office
spokesman's statement, however,
the appeals court last December
affrned death sentence pro-
nounced on Victor Csornoky, SON.
ih-law of Zoltan Tidy, then presi-
dent of Hungary. on charges Of
treason, crimes against the peo-
pie and black market currency
dealings. ,Mr. -aCsornoky eWas
hanged December 7.
Attacks Americans, British.
In his news conference last
night the Foreign Office spokes-
man again made bitter attacks
against British and American pub
lie figures, Mr.. Chaplin in particu-
lar. He repeated some of the OBJ
servations concerning the Minister
that were made by Judge Olthys.
The American envoy yesterday
eategorically denied the charges
that he had Influenced the cardi-
nal, calling the assertions non
sense and pure fantasy"
The spokesman signed out Brit
ish Foreign Secretary Bevin and
Francis Cardinal Spellman of New
York. charging they had made
statements calculated to influence
the courts decision.
EReferrlng to Mr.. Bevin's as
sertion that the conduct of the
trial was "repugnant, the spokes-
man said the Hungarian govern
nent believes lit to be repugnant
that the Secretary of Foreign At
fairs of Great Britain should at
tempt on the eve of the verdict
to influence public opinion abroad
and also here"
Cardinal Spellman, the spokes-
man asserted, was a PAL ticipant
ip the plotting of Cardinal
Mindszenty and therefore "he
csnnot be an objective observer.
sThe spokesman told newsmen
who covered the trial that their
reporting had been objective, but
it was misunderstood by those
who did not believe what you saw
with your own eyes"
Reactions in the United States
and England, he said. clearly
show that the people abroad took
no notice of the reports you sent
from here
THE Hungarian Workers Party
Communist newspaper, Szabad
Nep, today continued it's attacks
on the cardinal, calling him a
yielding and miserable scrub"
The article said, "He'personifled
human wretchedness and his let
ter written before the trial to the
Ministry of Justice proved he did
not care a bit what would hap
pen to his accomplices. He was
interested only in saving himself.
- He dreamed in his cell about
an American plan to escape. '
Imperialism does not create
heroes, only bloodthirsty beasts
and towards"
SIn the trial the cardinal ad-