Sauna Bombed In Budapest

Hungarian nationalists fire-bombed a Budapest bathhouse yesterday as that city readied for this weekend's gay pride events.

A gay establishment in the Hungarian capital has been targeted, the second attack in a week. Four petrol bombs were thrown into sauna called Magnum in the early hours of yesterday morning. One man was slightly injured by fumes. The bombers had called the sauna before their attack and warned people to evacuate. A similar phone warning was used last week when a gay club was attacked with a petrol bomb. The sauna had kept several extinguishers at hand since last week’s attack and so the fire was promptly extinguished.

The gay community in the city is fearful that more violence could occur during this week's 13th LGBT Film and Cultural Festival and at the Pride march on Saturday. "We are doubtful if the police are really protecting the gay establishments as they promised," said Gábor Kuszing of gay rights group Patent Association. "Police were present around the cinema housing the Festival, however they left after the politicians opening the Festival finished with their speeches," he added.

Yesterday's attack comes after repeated threats against the LGBT festival and the Pride march from right-wing groups during the last few weeks. Activists said it could be the work of a group who use a website called kuruc.info. Described as "an extremist nationalist hate site targeted against gay people, liberals, Jewish people," the phone numbers and other details about gay activists are regularly posted on the site. "This site, although Hungarian, is hosted in a US server, so there is nothing we can do to stop them," a Hungarian activist from Budapest told PinkNews.co.uk.

The sauna's website (NSFW) appears to make no mention of the attack. Anybody speak Hungarian?