József Szilágyi

From the Hungarian Wikipedia page [1]

Joseph Szilagyi ( Debrecen , 1917 . June 17 - Budapest , 1958 . April 24 ) Hungarian revolutionary, lawyers, police Lieutenant Colonel. He was arrested in connection with his activities in the Revolution and War of Independence in 1956 and was sentenced to death and executed as a defendant in the Imre Nagy trial.

1989 . On 16th June, in connection with the redemption of Revolutionaries who were sentenced to death and imprisoned in the Nagy Imre Court in Budapest, the coffin containing his remains was part of the memorial designed by László Rajk Jr, who along with Imre Nagy, Miklós Gimes, Pál Maléter and Géza Losonczy. After commemoration, it was placed in eternal tranquility on the 301 parcel of the New Public Cemetery.

## To the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence

József Szilágyi was born on June 20, 1917 in Debrecen. He studied at high school in his hometown of Debrecen Reformed Grammar School. After graduation, he was admitted to the Faculty of Law at István Debreceni Tisza , where he was awarded the title of Doctor of Law and State Sciences in 1939.

In 1938 he became a member of the illegal communist party. He was arrested for his activities in 1940, and one year later, he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for the dismissal of the social order. From prison in 1944. released on March 15.

Between 1947 and 1949 , he was the head of the party's armed military department. He criticized the position represented by the party on the conceptional lawsuit against Laszlo Rajk, and was dismissed from his post.

From 1950 he was Head of the Crop Company.

From 1953 he became a student of the Budapest University of Technology.

In 1956 he was expelled from the Hungarian Workers' Party (MDP) because of his views.

## His role in the Revolution

On October 22, 1956, he spoke twice at the Budapest University of Technology at a meeting organized by young university students. In his speeches, he criticized the leaders of the party and the government and drew attention to the events in Poland that could serve Hungary for example . After the speeches, he visited his friend, Budapest police chief, Sándor Kopácsi, that night , asking that the police should not interfere with the protest of the university students scheduled for October 23.

On October 23, 1956 he attended the Bem statue and the Republic Square.

From October 23 to October 27, he was staying at the Budapest Police Station. Then on October 27, he visited his friends and convinced Imre Nagy that the political shift was necessary and inevitable now. Imre Nagy, having seen the facts, placed his seat in Parliament and then as Prime Minister , he was the leader of the revolution.

Szilágyi followed Imre Nagy to the House of Parliament, where after having failed to undertake the post of interior minister of the Second Imre Nagy Government , he became the personal secretary of the Prime Minister, but this office was not formally appointed. Between October 27 and November 4 , he served as secretary to the Prime Minister.

On November 4, 1956, he left the building of Parliament and sought shelter with Yugoslavia 's embassy in Hungary. At the Embassy he continued his activities with Imre Nagy and his closest associates. Until November 22, he had done all the things he could do as a secretary.

The Embassy building was built by the Imre Nagy Group in 1956 . on 22 November at 18.30. According to the preliminary agreement, Yugoslavia was bound by the fulfillment of two conditions to secure the departure of the Imre Nagy team. On the one hand, they are transported from their embassy building to their homes. On the other hand, János Kádár will not be held responsible for their activities between October 23 and November 4, 1956. To fulfill these two conditions, János Kádár, on behalf of his government, promised.

Interior Minister Ferenc Münnich sent a separate letter to the embassy building. The Yugoslav Ambassador ordered the bus for the safety of the Imre Nagy team, diplomat of M. Georgievich and military attaché M. Drobac. At the first station, the state security officers sent the Yugoslav embassy staff, despite their protest, from the bus. The end of the bus was the Soviet military headquarters in Matthias. Yes, bus passengers were transported to Romania by plane, then transported to Snagov by bus.

For the time spent in Snagov, József Szilágyi's wife remembers: "Such luxury as Snagov has received, I have never seen in my life ... (...) Beautifully laid tables awaiting us, serving us, planting them, serving waitresses ... (...) We were in custody, but we could write and write. Every day the newspaper was distributed, but only the Romanian party card. We walked all day in the park, though in the four corners of the park was a civilian guard ... (...) Our children's education was organized in early December. Júlia Rajk , Ferenc Jánosi , Miklós Vásárhelyi , József Szilágyi taught them."

They were taken to Snagovból Pitesti. Recall of Szilágyi Józsefné: "1957. On 27 March, two familiar Romanian AVHs came in our room and told us to pack because they moved us separately. (...) An hour later, the Táncosos couple and the black car set off with us. After a half-hour drive, we stopped at a lakeshore small farmhouse yard. We barely packed out, and Jóska had just switched her suit to schoolgirls when we were surprised to find the room, a total of six. They called Goodbye to get dressed up because they would take it away. (...) Within a half hour, the two men were finished and we took them to the yard where a car was waiting for them. Here he left them, József Szilágyi from his family. He raised the two children into the air, kissed them, warmed me warmly and said, "Watch out for them, my mother! Take care! There was boundless sadness in her long-eyed, brown eyes. It seemed as if she had suffered the horrible suffering that await her. I could see from the tears that she waved back in the car window. I've never seen her again, either alive or dead. "

Pitesti, Szilágyi, returned to Budapest on March 27, 1957 after his arrest.

## Accused of Imre Nagy

József Szilágyi refused to cooperate with his interrogative officers during pre-trial detention. She had been a hungry strike , she did not testify. Confessions were refused on moral grounds or on the grounds of asylum provided by the Yugoslav government. Therefore, his case was separated from the other defendants of Imre Nagy .

His case was held on two occasions, on 6 February and 16 April 1958.

## The judgment

At the hearing held on April 16, 1958, the Supreme Judicial Council of the People's Court found it guilty and sentenced to death in the charge of the crime of organizing the popular democratic state order. According to the reasoning of the judgment, Szilágyi, in his speech at the Technical University on October 22, 1956, contrasted the Hungarian situation with the Polish situation and evaluated the event as an important stage in the fight. Then, in his second speech, openly opposed the position of the rector of the university, moderating the position of the demonstrators. On October 23, 1956, he attended the Bem Statue, the Parliament, and the Statue of Stalinheld in demonstrations. On October 27, 1956, Imre Nagy convinced Imre to step up the "Counter-Revolution" and negotiated as Secretary with the Prime Minister's delegates. According to the Supreme Court , Szilágyi did not have asylum, as Yugoslavia could only grant asylum to a person residing in their country. Against this background, according to the Supreme Court of the People's Court, József Szilágyi's political activity between October 23 and November 4, 1956, can only be considered as directly and consciously aimed at overthrowing the popular democratic state system.

His lawyer, Dr. Kornél Zalán, filed for a petition on April 22, 1958, was dismissed by the court of first instance and ordered to execute the death sentence by order.

## The execution

On 23 April 1958, the Supreme Court's National Council of Refugees rejected the petition for petition submitted to it and sentenced the execution judge to execute a death sentence .

József Szilágyi executed the judgment on April 24, 1958 at 6:40. Doctors report that the time of death is 6 hours 51 minutes.

## Rehabilitation

Acting Chief Prosecutor of the Hungarian People's Republic in 1989 . 9 June 21206/1989 against Imre Nagy and Others in 1958. the Supreme Court filed a lawsuit against the Supreme Court.

A 21206/1989. lawyer's protection against the following grounds.

In the case of Imre Nagy and others, the acting authorities violated the rules of criminal law in force in a serious and repeated manner with the unlawful limitation of the accused's personal freedom and rights of defense.

In the course of the proceedings, only the collection of evidence on defendants came to the fore.

The prosecutor did not do anything to remedy obvious violations in the investigation.

At the judicial stage of the procedure, the principles of publicity and of directness were violated, as well as a serious violation of the pertinent rules of law.

The judgment is unfounded because, first, the case is not sufficiently investigated and, on the other hand, a number of factual findings are incomplete and, third, because the court has inferred from the facts certain facts.

In the light of these facts, the Prosecutor General considers that there is no need to repeat the proceedings as the judgment does not contain any findings that correspond to the sections of the Criminal Code in force in 1958. In addition, the Supreme Court's National Council of Judges misconstrued and applied the Criminal Code and Criminal Code rules in its judgment. During the proceedings of the Prosecutor General, he requested a document on the Hungarian-Yugoslav agreement signed in November 1956 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thus, the lawsuit specifically deals with the agreement signed in November 1956, as József Szilágyi also referred to during his pre-trial detention. József Szilágyi's position was confirmed because, according to the Prosecutor General, it is clear from the document that, that the Kádár Government made a written assurance. The collateral guarantees that no retaliatory action will be taken on the activities of persons residing at the Yugoslav Embassy before 4 November 1956. All this is exhausting1950 . II. the law does not exclude the possibility of a criminal offense under Article 7.

On July 6, 1989 , the Supreme Court's decision on legality protection filed by the Supreme Prosecutor took place. At the hearing Sándor Kopácsi and Miklós Vásárhelyi did not appear. The Supreme Court examined the points of legality raised by the Prosecutor General, and agreed with them and added some of the elements to their decision. The decision of the Jenő Szilbereki Jr. Board of Trustees should be evaluated from two directions. On the one hand, on substantive law, on the one hand, and on procedural law.

From a substantive legal point of view, in the course of reviewing the criminal proceedings, the court initiated the criminal law of the age when determining the question of guilt, "/ 1 / Criminal punishable who commits an act to overthrow a popular democratic state order as defined in the Constitution of the Hungarian People's Republic , initiates movement or organization , leads or provides substantial financial support, actively participates in, or promotes, a movement or organization. " [3] In the Presidency's view, the activities of Imre Nagy and his associates were not aimed at overthrowing the people's democratic state system. Because of their activity, it was a political activity that wanted to bring about the deportation of the then-ruling state. To this end they developed their own program, held discussions. Likewise, the panel evaluated the negotiations during the time spent at the Yugoslav Embassy. Thus, when Imre Nagy and his immediate associate of friends and relatives escaped to the Yugoslav Embassy and contacted the Yugoslav government, he did not commit an offense of public order since, in such a case, contact was considered a logical step and negotiations between the two parties did not raise any questions . which could have exhausted the criminal offense of the Supreme Court's Judicial Council. From the procedural law point of view, the Supreme Court appealed to the following errors, which would in itself exclude the objective judgment of the criminal case.

On January 20, 1958, it was declared as a warrant, which provided the possibility of a choice being made, so it was not possible to order pre-trial detention before.

During the investigation, no defense was possible as the suspects did not disclose the facts and evidence on which the prosecution based the prosecution.
There was no way to provide sufficiently well-grounded defense, as the court left it for a period after clarifying the facts, but the subjective and biased court did not give time to defend itself after clarifying the facts unknown to him.
The Council of the People's Courts first held a hearing on 5 and 6 February 1958. On the second day, he ordered extra pressure and returned the documents to the General Prosecutor's Office. The next hearing took place on June 9, in a board with a changed composition. According to the then rules of the Penal Code, the adjourned trial may be held within one month by reading the previous report if there has been no change in the composition of the former council. In all other cases, the trial has to start from the beginning.

Péter Lakatos was a member of the People's Court Council all the while, even though his husband was killed in the Republic Square during an armed conflict, so he could not have been sitting in the court seat because of bias. The issue of bias was also governed by the penal code of the time. According to Article 13 (e) of the Code of Conduct, the existence of bias should have been announced without delay.

There was no reason to separate Dr. József Szilágyi's case.

In summary, it can be concluded that the judgment given by the High Court of Justice of the Supreme Court did not, in procedural terms, rule out the rules established by the law of the age.

Against this background, the decision of the Bureau Council clarifies that Imre Nagy and his associates were innocently condemned to death by the Supreme Court of the People's Court, and therefore the judgments should be repealed.