CPT stresses urgent need to address ill-treatment by police and prison staff in Hungary

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visits places of detention to assess how persons deprived of their liberty are treated. The CPT’s recent country report on Hungary highlighted a number of systemic problems to which the HHC has long drawn attention, including prison population inflation, prison overcrowding and inhumane detention conditions, ill-treatment, irregularities in pre-trial detention and excessive restrictions on prison visits.  

Key findings of the report 

• Ill-treatment remains a matter of particular concern, both by the police and in prisons (especially in Tiszalök Prison); 

• Lack of access to adequate medical examinations, with police and prison officers systematically present during examinations, continues to hinder the reporting of ill-treatment; 

• Excessive use of means of restraint, sexual harassment of female detainees, verbal abuse and routine strip-searches further impede humane detention; 

• Prison overcrowding remains a major obstacle to humane living conditions for all prisoners; 

• Inadequate material conditions, including unsanitary conditions (e.g. pest infestations), inadequate temperature control, limited access to showers and appropriate clothing, lack of adequate yards, etc., persist; 

• Excessive restrictions on prisoners’ visiting rights remain, including restrictions on physical contact and the general use of the plexiglass partition during visits. 

Ill-treatment by the police and prison staff 

During its visit to Hungary, the CPT paid particular attention to ill-treatment by police and prison staff. In this respect, the delegation received numerous credible allegations of physical ill-treatment of detained persons. The CPT also noted several allegations of excessively tight handcuffing, sexual harassment of female detainees by male police officers and verbal abuse, including of a racist nature. 

Among the places of detention visited, the situation regarding ill-treatment by staff was particularly dire in Tiszalök Prison. The patterns that emerge show that the alleged ill-treatment usually takes place in places that are hidden from the cameras, while in some cases detainees were even hand- and ankle-cuffed. In addition, inter-prisoner violence appeared to be a serious problem in Tiszalök Prison, where it was alleged that prison staff not only failed to intervene, but also allowed and even instructed inmates to ill-treat their cellmates. 

Moreover, the CPT also expressed concern about the routine presence of police officers and prison guards during medical examinations, a practice which not only disregards medical confidentiality but also undermines the reporting of ill-treatment. The report also notes that “several persons met during the visit who alleged that they had been ill-treated by police officers stated that the presence of police officers prevented them from reporting these allegations during their medical examinations”. 

Despite repeated calls by several domestic and international human rights institutions, ill-treatment by police officers and prison staff remains an unresolved issue in Hungary. This also means that most of these violations remain without consequences.  

Overcrowding and detention conditions 

The CPT’s report identifies overcrowding in Hungarian prisons as a fundamental problem. It points out that, at the time of the visit, 23 out of the 33 prison establishments in the country had an occupancy rate of more than 100%, resulting in an average occupancy rate of 109.5%. The CPT noted with concern the steady increase in the number of pre-trial detainees, which contributes significantly to prison overcrowding. The Committee also highlighted, among the underlying causes of the problem, both the lack of a coherent strategy to reduce overcrowding and the underuse of alternative, non-custodial measures. At the same time, the CPT stressed that, given the steady increase in the prison population, increasing capacity alone will not be sufficient to provide all prisoners with adequate living conditions. Moreover, the CPT considers that overcrowding combined with staff shortages, has had a highly detrimental effect on the prison regime, as it has led to many detainees having no or limited access to work, education and other out-of-cell activities. Since the CPT’s visit in 2023, three establishments have been closed, further reducing the already inadequate capacity.  

For more information on prison overcrowding and inadequate detention conditions, see the HHC’s latest communication in the István Gábor Kovács and Varga and Others v. Hungary group of cases.  

Further concerns 

The CPT also criticised the fact that strip searches were part of the daily custodial routine. Although this practice has been condemned by several human rights institutions, including the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (the Hungarian NHRI), it still raises serious concerns as a widespread and automatic breach of the law. Against this background, the CPT emphasised that the high frequency and extensive use of searches, including systematic strip searches, was completely disproportionate. 

Regarding restrictions on prisoners’ visiting rights, the CPT noted with concern that the minimum visiting entitlements still fell short of those laid down in international standards, particularly in cases involving children. Contrary to the CPT’s reaffirmation that the imposition of visits through a plexiglass partition should always be based on an individual, evidence-based risk assessment, visits are still generally carried out under closed conditions. Against this background, the Committee urged the Hungarian authorities to substantially increase visiting entitlements for all categories of prisoners. The delegation also noted that none of the establishments visited had facilities for family visits or for open visits in general. Despite some improvements since the CPT’s last visit, legislation and practice continue to raise concerns, both in relation to excessive restrictions on physical contact and the mandatory use of the plexiglass partition during visits. 

The CPT has also confirmed the concerns expressed by previous international bodies (Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture) that the national body for monitoring compliance with the UN Convention against Torture, Hungary’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), continues to lack the functional independence and funding necessary to function as intended. 

The full text of the CPT’s report on its 2023 visit to Hungary is available here. 

Read the HHC Justice Programme’s submission to the CPT’s 2023 periodic visit here, and the Refugee Programme’s submission here.