Disregard for Human Rights of People in Prison – Key Concerns

Nine years after the European Court of Human Rights condemned Hungary for violating the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment due to its prison conditions, detainees continue to face substandard living conditions that fall short of European standards. This ongoing human rights violation persists primarily due to systemic overcrowding.

This chart shows how the Hungarian prison population rate (number of detained people per 100K inhabitants) has grown in the past years, and it also signals some globally or locally relevant events that might have had an effect on the number of detained individuals.

Furthermore, prison authorities in Hungary engage in the routine use of physical restraints when presenting detained defendants in court, a practice that contravenes both EU law and domestic legal standards.

Read our briefing paper on key concerns related to:

• The disproportionate use of physical restraints during criminal trials, and
• Prison overcrowding leading to substandard detention conditions.