Far-right Hungarian jailed

The presiding judge ordered police to restore calm Tuesday in the Budapest city courtroom during Budahazy's sentencing. Sixteen other accused got jail terms ranging from 10 months to 12 years, alongside two suspended sentences.

Violence erupted after prosecutors announced they would appeal Budahazy's 13-year sentence on terrorism-related charges. They had initially sought a 20-year jail term.

The court found that Budahazy (pictured above) and most other accused had fired missiles and bombs at the homes and offices of then-governing politicians, while members of the now-defunct "Arrows of Hungarians" group, between 2007 and 2009.

Targets had included cabinet members of the-then Socialist-led government headed at the time by Ferenc Gyurcsany, who admitted that he had lied to win election.

A former Socialist politician turned television presenter was also severely beaten with metal bars at his home after he described the group as "hooligans" on air.

Tumult in courtroom

At Tuesday's sentencing to close the five-year trial, Budahazy shouted "freedom." His supporters, who had packed the courtroom, yelled and whistled in anger.

Police eventually managed to restore calm. The prosecution based its case mainly on witness statements, telephone tapping and material evidence.

The accused had denied the charges and largely refused to testify.

Jobbick decries verdict

Hungary's far-right party Jobbik had repeatedly expressed support for the extremist during the lengthy trial. On Tuesday, it described the verdicts as "unjust."

Budahazy first came to prominence in 2002 when he organized a blockade of a bridge in Budapest to protest the Socialists' parliamentary election win.

In 2006, he was one of the leaders of street protests that turned into rioting on a scale not seen since Hungary's transition from communism in 1990.

ipj/mg (dpa, AFP)