Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, returns this week to Budapest to support constituent Michael Turner in what he hopes will be the final chapter of his long running search for justice at the hands of the Hungarian authorities.
Turner and his business partner, Jason McGoldrick were extradited under a European Arrest Warrant in 2009, after their time share marketing business collapsed in 2004.
They were locked up without charge for four months in a former KGB prison, before being released in early 2010.
After returning home, they were finally charged with fraud in late 2011 and brought to court in Budapest in March this year for a preliminary hearing. This was held in Hungarian, using a translator, with television cameras filming constantly.
The court reconvened in June, when the trial was due to end; however the presiding judge decided that he needed more time to study the financial documents and put the date forward to this week.
There has now been further confusion as the verdict is to be given a day early, on Thursday 29th November.
‘The family is concerned that this is not entirely accidental,’ says Drax, ‘All the media had planned to attend on Friday. Michael’s case has been drawing increasing attention. By bringing the court date forward unannounced, the Hungarian authorities can avoid much of the press scrutiny which we suspect they find uncomfortable.’
It is the second journey to Budapest for Drax, who testified as a character witness for Turner to the Hungarian Court in June. His support for the Turners, from Corfe Castle, has been unwavering.
‘My sincere wish is that these young men should be found not guilty and that they can return to their lives,’ says Drax, ‘The emotional and financial toll these eight long years of uncertainty and anxiety have imposed upon the Turner family is extreme.’