Anybody may become defenceless in the face of the state’s power.
The excessive and lengthy use of pre-trial detention continues to be a serious problem throughout the Central Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (CEE-FSU) region, and the practice of pre-trial detention in most countries … Read more
The Metropolitan Court in its judgment of November 5 acquitted Róbert Kiss, the leader of the ‘New Hungarian Guard’ of the charges of the abuse of right to assembly. According to the judge the Court should deliver its judgement on the basis of the “prevailing order in the country” and not according to the rule of law. This reasoning is especially problematic when the judge refers to the views of a particular political party.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee commented the draft law on the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT). The HHC welcomes the ratification of the OPCAT and the designation of the ombudsman as the national preventive mechanism. We are dissapointed however that the draft law does not cover all types of places of detention. We are concerned that NGOs which already acquired significant experience in monitoring detention are excluded from the national preventive mechanism which would start its operation only in 2015.
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee jointly commented on the new draft law on petty offence. The two human rights watchdog NGOs draw the attention to provisions violating the international and domestic law.
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 European Court of Human Rights found that Hungary has breached the ban on inhuman and degrading treatment in the case of Csüllög v Hungary. The applicant was represented by the Helsinki Committee’s lawyer. The case concerned the placement of a prison inmate in a special security regime in the Satoraljaujhely prison for two years. The applicant had no opportunities to challenge his placement in the regime. It follows from the Court’s judgment that Hungary has to improve detention conditions and revise rules on legal remedies available to inmates.
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
Hungary violated inhuman and degrading treatment ban – HHC wins another case in Strasbourg human rights court
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Hungary violated Article 3 of the Convention in a police ill-treatment case. The applicant was represented by one of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s lawyers. Case Barta v. Hungary
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in its decision dated 11 January 2011 that the pre-trial detention of a 27-year old man was unjustified. According to the ECtHR, the applicant should not have been … Read more
On 20 May 2010, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment in the case of Mr. Zoltán Engel versus Hungary. Mr. Engel was sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing a police … Read more
In its chamber judgment issued on 16 December 2003, the European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European … Read more
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
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
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.