Viking Sigyn captain's bail release unlawful, top court rules

The decision by lower courts to release on bail the captain of a cruise ship which collided with a sightseeing boat in central Budapest in May was unlawful, the Kuria, Hungary's supreme court, said in a non-binding resolution. Last month, a binding ruling handed down by a municipal court set the Viking Sigyn's 64-year-old Ukrainian captain's bail at 15 million forints (EUR 45,800). In its justification, the Kuria said that even the lower courts had acknowledged that the grounds for placing the captain under criminal supervision were not met, which, it noted, only applied if the suspect posed a flight risk, but not to the risk of evidence tampering. A suspect can only be released on bail if they are being placed under criminal supervision, the court said. However, it argued, if the lower courts decided not to place the captain under criminal supervision, then they had no grounds to release him on bail, either.