Two German tourists ended up with a criminal record because they thought Romania was part of the Schengen area
by RoHouse
Two German tourists ended up with a criminal record because they thought Romania was part of the Schengen area
by RoHouse
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**Partial translated text:**
Two German tourists on holiday in Romania were charged with criminal offences. The two were travelling on bicycles and entered Hungary illegally via a temporary border crossing point, which was closed at the time. Immediately, reports Presa SM, the Hungarian authorities raised the alert and, after identifying them, the two were charged with fraudulent crossing of the state border.
This is not a unique case. Frequently, foreign tourists from the EU, travelling by bicycle, motorbike or even on foot, end up breaking the law unintentionally, Border Police representatives told Digi24.ro in a statement. The incident took place on Wednesday 3 May at around 17:40. The two German tourists wanted to cross from Romania to Hungary on their bikes via Bercu (Satu Mare county) – Garbolcz (Hungary), guided by GPS. They bypassed the concrete obstacle and the barrier and illegally entered Hungarian territory, the source reports. Shortly afterwards, the authorities in the neighbouring country issued an alert and sent the Romanian side CCTV footage of the two people travelling on bicycles.
Once caught, the tourists told the Hungarian authorities that they had been guided by GPS and that, being used to travelling freely across Europe without customs controls, they did not know they were committing an illegal act. The two were charged with fraudulent border crossing. Recently, the public prosecutor’s office at the Satu Mare court gave a “waiver” in the case.
Contacted by Digi24.ro journalists for a point of view, Border Police representatives say this is not a unique case. Frequently, foreign tourists from the EU, travelling by bicycle, motorbike or even on foot, end up breaking the law unintentionally. On Romania’s border with Hungary there are 10 such temporary border crossing points, open only on Saturdays from 10am to 6pm (Romanian time). “The Sighetu Marmației Border Police Territorial Inspectorate has recorded several such events in the area of responsibility in Satu Mare County. There were situations in which foreign citizens, from European Union member states, travelling either on bicycles, motorbikes or even on foot, ended up violating the legal regime of the state border, either entering or leaving the Romanian territory illegally. Not because they intended to circumvent border control – because in all cases the persons had legal travel documents – but because they did not inform themselves in advance about the conditions of travel, i.e. entry or exit from Romanian territory.
Translated with DeepL
Ignorance is not an excuse when breaking the law!