A court of first instance sentenced a homeless man to jail term of 11 years on Thursday for violently robbing another rough sleeper of 600 forints (roughly €2) and a duvet worth 2,000 forints (EUR 7), daily Magyar Nemzet said on Friday.
Having two previous convictions for robbery, the court sentenced the man known as H. Bela under the “three strikes” law that prescribes a much stricter sentence for a criminal relapse after a second violent offence.
Both the defense attorney and the prosecutor have called for an appeal.
The defense attorney tried to get proceedings suspended, and turned to the Constitutional Court for ruling on the “three strikes” law itself, arguing that the defendant would receive “inhumane” punishment under the law.
Judge Gabriella Zumbok said that the value of property taken was not as important as the fact that the culprit had committed violence against women.
The defendant admitted to theft but denied perpetrating it violently, adding that he was under the impression the duvet had been stolen from him and he had merely tried to recover it.
