President Tamás Sulyok has sent condolences on behalf of all Hungarians to the relatives of József Sebestyen Jr., the deceased Transcarpathian Hungarian who was forcefully conscripted and later died.
"I was deeply shaken to learn of the death of their son, József Sebestyen Jr. When a parent must bury their child, it is an unnatural. The profound pain of a grieving mother and father is unimaginable," the president said in a statement posted to Facebook on Friday, quoting the letter.
On learning of the circumstances leading to the man's death, President Sulyok said he was "sickened". "This cannot happen in Europe; it totally runs against the human values ... that European nations have consistently claimed as their own for centuries."
The loss of every Hungarian in their prime was "a national tragedy", he said.
"Our Hungarian communities, wherever they live in the Carpathian Basin or in the wider world, can always count on each other," the president declared. "The loss of one is a loss for us all."
The president's letter concludes: "On behalf of all Hungarians, please accept my sincere condolences. We are with you in this difficult time. May God rest your son!"