She almost went crazy because of her detention in the transit zone

S. H. and her family belonged to the marginalised Arab minority in Iran, and the 27-year-old woman was also involved in the Arab minority movement. Thus, they were forced to flee Iran. They reached the Hungarian border via Serbia, where they were allowed to enter the Tompa transit zone, where the asylum authority rejected S. H.’s asylum application. She asked for a judicial review because she was facing persecution in her home country and had a well-founded fear that her freedom and physical integrity could be at risk if she were returned to Iran.

The judge in the case referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union because he considered that the domestic law was contrary to EU minimum standards and that it emptied out the right to seek asylum.

The Iranian woman was initially detained with her two siblings in the area designated for families. Conditions there were also harsh, but the situation deteriorated even further when, after more than a year, her siblings were released in February 2019. She then felt abandoned and defenceless, subjected to verbal harassment from other detainees.

She became anxious and suicidal, therefore, she was isolated from the others. She was monitored 24/7, in a container where patients with suspected infections are usually quarantined. She was not allowed to turn off the lights at night (saying there was a risk of suicide) and had to keep the door open despite the winter. Sometimes they would go in the middle of the night to check that everything was all right. Even though it was the loneliness that was distressing her, she was forced into solitude, as she was essentially kept in solitary confinement.

In desperation, she went on a hunger strike. Although she did not receive any meaningful psychological care in the transit zone, with the help of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, she requested her release because of the severity of her situation. The asylum authority refused to grant her request, but the domestic court eventually ordered her  release. In total, she was held in unnecessary solitary confinement for 14 days.

S. H. has since been living in Germany, studying engineering.

The European Court of Human Rights has now ruled that the Hungarian state has committed a breach of the law because no one can be subjected to torture or inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment, especially not women asylum seekers in need of help. The Strasbourg judges therefore ordered the Hungarian State to pay a total of €3,500 in just reparation.

“Several Strasbourg judgments have already ruled that, with few exceptions, detention in transit zones is itself illegal. However, this was a blatant violation of the law because a desperate woman in need of help was held in solitary confinement. Transit zones have been abolished, yet the fundamental rights of asylum seekers have been violated in droves ever since. Ending the often violent pushbacks is one of the most important goals of our organisation.” – Szabolcs Miklós Sánta, the lawyer of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, who represented the asylum seeker in the Strasbourg proceedings, assessed last week’s ruling.