The man, only identified by his first name and initials as Gergely László P. detonated a bomb containing eight kilograms of explosives and six kilograms of nails, timing it to injure or kill the two police officers patrolling the busy downtown area.
The Budapest Court found him guilty of attempted murder, illegal use of explosives and planning a terrorist attack. The two police officers remained in a critical condition for several days and one of them suffered permanent hearing loss.
Following the attack, the bomber sent an e-mail to the Ministry of Interior describing the bomb-making process and police also found an unsent e-mail on his computer in which he was asking for EUR 1 million or he would detonate another bomb, Judge József Kalina said at the announcement of the sentence
The life sentence in Hungary means in practice a minimum of 25 years in prison. Both sides appealed the sentence, with the prosecution asking for a more severe one and the defense for a reduction.
