The Debrecen Court of Appeal will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, starting at 9 a.m., in the case in which three defendants were convicted at first instance of attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty.
In July 2025, the Debrecen Regional Court sentenced the first defendant, R. R., to 10 years in prison and 10 years’ deprivation of public rights for attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty as a co-perpetrator. The second defendant, Sz. Á. A., was sentenced to 11 years in prison and 10 years’ deprivation of public rights for attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty as a co-perpetrator, as well as for the misdemeanor of disorderly conduct committed as a co-perpetrator. The third defendant, N. K., was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 6 years’ deprivation of public rights for attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty as a co-perpetrator.
According to the court’s ruling, none of the defendants may be released on parole. The prosecution appealed for a harsher sentence, while the defendants and their legal representatives appealed for leniency, meaning the case will continue at second instance.
They assaulted their occasional drinking companion
According to the facts established by the court of first instance, in July 2022, during the late afternoon, the defendants were drinking alcohol and talking with several acquaintances on a street near downtown Debrecen. In the evening, the later victim joined them and also consumed alcohol, and the group repeatedly returned to a nearby grocery store to buy more alcoholic drinks.
At around 9 p.m., the heavily intoxicated second defendant, who had been standing slightly apart, kneed the victim in the waist without any prior verbal altercation. Those present tried to prevent further aggression, but in his anger the defendant kicked a nearby bicycle rack and then began arguing with his half-brother, the first defendant. Seeing this, the victim stepped forward and struck his attacker in response to the earlier assault.
The first defendant attempted to step between the two men, but the second defendant struck the victim again. At that point, the third defendant also joined in, initially attempting to calm the situation, but the intoxicated men began hitting each other mutually. During the fight, the first defendant took out a knife with a blade approximately 12 centimeters long and stabbed the victim in the chest. After this, all three defendants struck and kicked the man multiple times, including kicking him in the head after he had fallen to the ground.
The first defendant then fled the scene and hid at an acquaintance’s home until his arrest. Later, the third defendant attempted to stop the assault, but the second defendant continued to kick the victim, who by then was unconscious, stopping only when he heard the siren of the arriving police patrol car.
As a result of the continuous assault, the victim was left in a life-threatening condition; his life was saved by prompt and professional medical intervention. The second-instance hearing in the case will be held by the Debrecen Court of Appeal in a public session.
