The HHC takes legal action to challenge the anti-NGO laws

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) filed a complaint with the Hungarian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against the new criminal provision threatening with imprisonment those assisting asylum seekers. As for the so-called ‘special tax on immigration’ this law can only be challenged in Strasbourg, as the ruling majority deprived the Constitutional Court of its right to review tax laws years ago. 

all asylum seekers finally get food in the transitzones

After two weeks, all asylum seekers in the transit zones are now receiving food as a result of the our intervention. The HHC had to request interim measures from the ECtHR on a case-by-case basis for two weeks to ensure that authorities provide food to detained asylum seekers whose claims were found inadmissible. In all cases the ECtHR granted the requests and ordered the government to provide food to the 8 affected persons.

ILLIBERAL DEMOCRACY FAILS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

By triggering the Article 7 procedure, the European Parliament has made it clear that illiberal democracy is against the core values of the European Union. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee welcomes that the EP has validated, with a two-third majority, the long-standing concerns over the Hungarian political system.

No need for the HHC to pay the special tax

The Helsinki Committee is not involved in any activity which would fall under the scope of the new law.  As a first step the new law affects donors and our supporters are the European Union and the United Nations, which are exempt from paying tax in Hungary.

When we turn to the European Court of Human Rights, generally we try to draw attention to those structural problems which are not or cannot be remedied by the Hungarian authorities and courts: dismissal of public officials without justification, inhuman circumstances of detention, or unreasonable deprivation of one’s personal freedom.