After 13 years, the man convicted of a series of neo-Nazi murders has given a shocking and bizarre confession. But no one in Hungary seems to be interested, and it remains unclear if investigators will reopen the case. The neo-Nazi group killed six people, among them a small child The perpetrators ambushed their victims, set their homes on fire and then shot them as they sought to escape the flames. Or they killed them in their sleep. In all, the neo-Nazi group killed six people, among them a small child, and injured a further 55, most seriously. The only motivation for their crimes was the fact that their victims were Roma. The series of right-wing attacks in 2008/2009 were the gravest set of crimes committed in Hungary’s recent history — on par with the NSU murders in Germany that killed 10 and left one injured between 2000 and 2007. Here, too, the victims were targeted because they were foreigners. The murders in Hungary were carried out in the final months of the country’s Socialist-Liberal government, as Hungary drifted further into corruption and political chaos. (…) Some 13 years on, the Budapest daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet — considered an unofficial megaphone for Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party — has published an interview with Kiss. The interview, dated August 31, provided a confession that was just as confusing as it was shocking. In it, Kiss said: “The crimes took place. We committed them.” Although he described the crimes as a “mistake,” he never expressed true regret or remorse. Nor did the interviewer ever bother with follow-up questions. Kiss also described the group’s proclamations of innocence before the court as a “mistake.” Although he was presented as the main perpetrator and organizer of the group, Kiss denied he any leadership position. He claimed he simply wanted to help his younger brother, and only became involved in the murders by chance. The bizarre climax of the interview came when Kiss suggested the last two murders in April and August 2009 could have been avoided if investigators had worked more effectively. Unnamed accomplices But that wasn’t the only statement that made the interview so remarkable. For the first time, Kiss publicly confirmed what most who have followed the case long suspected: accomplices and supporters enabled the murders by providing cash, guns and logistics. In the interview, Kiss referred to two helpers: A local politician from the far-right Jobbik party, and an employee at a gun shop who apparently had access to confidential information from the Interior Ministry through a relative.
via dw: Hungary: Shocking confession in Roma murder case garners zero interest