Cooperation Agreement with the Office of Immigration and Nationality
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Office of Immigration and Nationality signed a Cooperation Agreement on 22 June 2009.
Category: News
HHC position on the 11 July 2009 demonstration of the Hungarian Guard
The extremist right wing party “Jobbik” announced a demonstration to be held on 11 July 2009 on Szabadság Square, in the framework of which the re-foundation of the dissolved Magyar Gárda Movement was announced. The Police did not dissolve the demonstration. In the HHC’s view, the demonstration should have been dissolved, since it constituted a violation of the rights and freedom of others (on the basis of the above argument).
HHC position on the 4 July 2009 demonstration of the Hungarian Guard
On 4 July 2009, the Police dissolved a demonstration held by members of the Magyar Gárda and their sympathizers. The HHC issued a statement according to which the Police had committed a number of failures … Read more
Human rights NGOs file report for incitement to hatred
On 23 June 2009, the HHC, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Chance for Children Foundation and the Legal Defense Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities filed a criminal report against T. P., a well-known … Read more
International Refugee Day
HHC wins lawsuit against Ministry of Social and Labour Affairs in freedom of information case
In a lawsuit filed by the Helsinki Committee, the Metropolitan Appellate Court pronounced on 18 June 2009 that contracts with winners of tenders called for by government bodies are public information, as are documents containing … Read more
Police officers get too light sentence for using degrading treatment against disabled persons
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee finds that the 16 June 2009 ruling of the Pécs Appellate Court is unacceptable, as it reduced the suspended imprisonment imposed in the first instance on police officers from Csurgó, who … Read more
Asylum seeker from Tibet recognised as refugee by Metropolitan Court
Pre-trial detention of 83-year old woman ordered in her absence
An ill, 83 year-old lady, whose pre-trial detention was ordered in her absence by the Tatabánya Municipal Court in a criminal investigation that has been ongoing for almost eight years has been held at the … Read more
Conference on the system of ex officio appointed defense
In late 2008 and early 2009 the HHC carried out research into possible ways of assessing the quality of ex officio defense through studying actual case files. In the research, 150 already closed criminal cases … Read more
NGOs support amendments to Civil Code bill to allow adoption of unmarried partners’ children
A 5-step agenda for better protecting stateless persons in Europe
After five decades of neglect, Europe is urged to respect its international obligations and provide stateless persons with a meaningful protection status.
Rights groups denounce anti-Romani statements by the Ombudsman
Hungarian Rights Groups Denounce Anti-Romani Statements by Hungary’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights On 2 April 2009, Dr Máté Szabó, Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights, stated in an interview with the online news portal FigyelőNet, … Read more
The HHC requests the Constitutional Court to abolish actual life sentence
Lifelong imprisonment without the possibility of parole was introduced in 1999 into Hungarian criminal law. In the EU at present Hungary and the United Kingdom are the only Member States that allow imposing a so-called “actual life … Read more
NGOs criticise the President of Hungary regarding his statements on attacks against the Roma
The HHC, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the Legal Defense Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities, the Roma Civil Rights Foundation and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union addressed President László Sólyom in a joint letter. The … Read more
HHC opposes Hungarian three strikes law
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee opposes the proposed amendments of the Hungarian Criminal Code, introducing the idea of “three strikes” into the Hungarian criminal law system. The HHC claims that the proposal infringes the constitutional principle that criminal sanctions … Read more
Court ruled for HHC: police are obliged to provide data on ex officio appointed defence counsels
In June 2008 the HHC sent a public interest information request to all Budapest-based police stations to find out in how many cases the police had appointed ex officio defense counsels in mandatory defense cases … Read more
Conference on actual life long imprisonment
Lifelong imprisonment without the possibility of parole was introduced in 1999 into Hungarian criminal law. In the EU at present Hungary and the United Kingdom are the only Member States that allow imposing a so-called “actual life … Read more
Joint NGO statement on the racist statements of Miskolc police chief
On 30 January 2009, Albert Pásztor, head of the Miskolc Police Headquarters held a press conference concerning robberies committed in the city of Miskolc. After the press conference, where he mentioned that all the robberies … Read more
Hungarian court requests a preliminary ruling from the ECJ in an asylum case
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s attorney, Gábor Győző is representing a Palestinian asylum seeker before the Metropolitan Court in Budapest (Fővárosi Bíróság) in an asylum case concerning the applicability of Article 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention.