Government detains two British citizens convicted of financing terrorism

Hungarian police detained two British citizens wanted under a European arrest warrant over charges of leaving Britain without permission, which they were obliged to get because of prior convictions for financing acts of terrorism.

The two men were detained last week for travelling without proper documents, according to a police statement late on Tuesday. They are being held in Hungary awaiting extradition to Britain.

British authorities filed the European arrest warrant in the Schengen Information System, detailing the pair's criminal histories.

The statement said the two men had spent two stints in prison each, a total of five years, for financing terrorist acts. They were released from prison in 2009 on condition they seek approval from British authorities before leaving the country.

Hungarian police gave their names as K. Simon Jonathan, 44, and B. Trevor, 40. They gave no further details.

The pair were heading to Romania by train when they were stopped at the Lokoshaza border station, police said.

"Clearly the obligation to seek approval for foreign trips from the British authorities was rooted in a fear that they may become repeat offenders and once again find a connection to terrorist groups," police spokeswoman Viktoria Csiszer-Kovacs said.