szökés

Szökés is the act of leaving confinement or evading custody. In Hungarian, szökés is a noun formed from the verb szökik, meaning to flee or escape. The term is used both in everyday language—when someone escapes danger or a restrictive situation—and in formal contexts to describe escape from police detention, prison, or other custody.

In legal terminology, szökés from custody can constitute a crime or an aggravating circumstance in Hungarian criminal law. It may occur when a person held in pre-trial detention, under arrest, or serving a sentence escapes confinement. Depending on the jurisdiction and the specific circumstances, szökés can be prosecuted as a separate offense and may affect subsequent proceedings or penalties. The response by authorities is determined by factors such as risk to public safety and whether additional offenses were committed during the escape.

In media and culture, the term is common in reports about criminal cases and in fiction, where the pursuit and consequences of an escape are central themes. Related Hungarian terms include menekülés (flight, escape) and szabadulás (liberation, release), though each term has its own nuance.

Etymology and nuance: Szökés derives from the verb szökik (to flee); used neutrally to denote the act of escaping, but in a legal context it implies a breach of custody with potential legal consequences.