Hungary Police Apologize over Handling of Woman’s Death; Japanese Victim had Complained of Abuse by Ex-Husband

By Sho Funakoshi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

17:30 JST, February 13, 2025

GENEVA – Police in Hungary said Tuesday it had taken disciplinary action against five of its officers for not responding to calls for help from a Japanese woman over her former husband’s abuse before he was arrested on suspicion of murdering her.

According to local media reports, a fire broke out in a Budapest apartment on Jan. 29, and the body of the woman was found. The police initially deemed that the fire was accidental but later arrested an Irish man, the women’s former husband, on suspicion of murder. The woman, 43, had contacted the police, saying that she was being abused by her former husband.

The woman’s lawyers and others criticized the police’s handling of the case, and public criticism grew in Hungary. The police apologized Tuesday, saying that the response was inadequate and announced that they would reexamine domestic violence cases that had been closed in the past year.