On 21/09/2011, human rights NGOs met with delegates of the Hungarian Government to discuss future steps of implementing the recommendations accepted by the government in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The European Court of Human Rights found that two Ivorian asylum-seekers, represented by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, had been held in immigration detention unlawfully for 5 months. Hungary must pay 10 000 EUR to each applicant for damages. The Court’s judgment highlights systemic problems concerning the detention of asylum-seekers in immigration jails in Hungary.
The HCLU and the HHC protest against the decision of the Police banning planned demonstrations of trade unions in front of the Parliament and in the Castle in Budapest. The NGOs claim that the ban has no valid reasons and violates the right to assembly of trade union members. The HCLU helps trade unions to challenge the decision before the court.
According to the NGOs’ view, the proposed amendments would allow the prosecutor to prohibit the attorney to attend the hearing of the witness. On the other hand it is a positive step that the draft law would ensure the right of appeal in case of placement in special security cells.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee submitted a 17-page analysis at the request of the parliamentary Committee investigating the Gyöngyöspata events. According to the HHC, the mandate for the Committee of Inquiry raises concerns as it fails … Read more
The head of an extremist group (Betyársereg) cooperating with the parliamentary party Jobbik incited its audience to kill Jews, Roma and people who have “a different color skin” at a festival in Verőce.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee urges the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the case and the Prime Minister and the President of Hungary to condemn the manifestations of hatred. The Helsinki Committee reminds that these steps are especially important considering the high level of intolerance towards minorities in the country.
The HHC’s co-chair represented László Karsai, is a Hungarian historian and university professor before the European Court of Human Rights in a case concerning the applicant’s freedom of expression. In 2004 there was a public … Read more
The Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and Transparency International Hungary jointly evaluated the first three months of the newly formed Parliament.
The Venice Commission issued an opinion on the new Constitution (the “Fundamental Law”) of Hungary in June 2011. Due to the lack of an official Hungarian translation and the misleading statements of government party representatives, the public may have a false impression of the content of the opinion. Therefore, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the HHC and the HCLU have prepared a joint analysis on the reactions of the Government in light of the Venice Commission’s opinion.
The Venice Commission issued an opinion on the new Constitution of Hungary in June 2011. Due to the lack of an official translation and the misleading statements of government party representatives, the public may have a false impression on the content on the opinion. Therefore, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the HHC and the HCLU have prepared a joint analysis on the opinion and the related reactions of the governance.
The opinion of the Venice Commission on the new Constitution of Hungary and the planned cardinal acts is on the agenda of the European Parliament tomorrow. The Hungarian Government declared publicly that it rejects the opinion of the Venice Commission, even though it considered the Commission as an important experts’ body before, e.g. in the case of the Slovakian language law. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee warns the Government that cardinal acts should be adopted in line with the opinion of the Venice Commission, otherwise Hungary will isolate itself from other democratic European states.
Ferenc Kőszeg, Founding President of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee gave a speech on 12 May 2011 in Moscow, on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the foundation of the Moscow Helsinki Group.
Documents related to the Fourth Periodic Report of Hungary
A prison guard ill-treating a detainee in July 2010 in the Budapest High and Medium Scurity Prison was found guilty by the Regional Court of Budapest on 30 March 2011. The decision is final. The … Read more
The HHC calls on the members of the Hungarian Parliament to not support the election of Béla Pokol as a new member of the Constitutional Court. Mr. Pokol has expressed his views about the separation of power and checks and balances numerous times. In a recent article, for example, Mr. Pokol claimed that “if in a given community a national or ethnic minority’s behavior leads to a higher crime rate then the principle of equal treatment might be discarded.”
Protest against denying certain criminal defendants access to defense counsels
The civil-police consultation between the Budapest VIth District Police and the local organizations representing the Terézváros inhabitants was held in May by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. The civil participants experienced that there is a real possibility to … Read more
Since 2006, the HHC has taken the lead on promoting the rights of stateless persons among non-governmental organisations at a European level.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee warned Hungarian MPs that the bill allowing 120-hour long custody without judicial review, interrogations in the first 48 hours of detention without a defense counsel, and the withholding of information regarding the reasons for the arrest are measures contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights and new EU directives to be adopted in the near future.