Budapest, 20 June 2018 - TODAY, on World Refugee Day the Hungarian Parliament adopted Bill T/333, a new version of the 2018 Anti-NGO package, and the Seventh Amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary. Although the adopted version of the attack on civil society organizations differs significantly from its two previous versions, the threat it poses is even more severe and unacceptable.
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On 29 May 2018, the Hungarian Government submitted a package of bills to the Hungarian Parliament as the third version of what it refers to as the ‘Stop Soros’ package. The bill no. T/333 ‘on the amendment of certain laws in relation to illegal immigration’ proposes using criminal law sanctions and prison terms as weapons against human rights defenders, under the false pretext of tightening rules against irregular migration.
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A new draft legislative package that limits judicial independence and restricts the freedom of judges to interpret the law is a serious threat to the rule of law in Hungary and runs counter to values Hungary signed up to when it joined the European Union. Our new publication demonstrates how, since 2010, law has been used as an instrument of power which has seriously undermined the rule of law and what risks the latest proposals entail.
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The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held a hearing in the case of Ilias and Ahmed v. Hungary. It concerned the detention of two asylum-seekers in the transit zone for 23 days as well as their removal from Hungary to Serbia.
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The jury not only valued his outstanding musical career but highlighted his commitment to human rights as well. Ádám Fischer is a longtime member of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
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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.
We provide free legal assistance to asylum seekers, stateless persons and unaccompanied minors in Hungary. Reuniting separated families is one of our main objectives. Through our training and research activities, we foster a high-quality, effective and humane asylum procedure – both inside Hungary and in other parts of the world. We combat xenophobia.
We aim at decreasing the defenceless of people: we provide support to those in contact with the police and the penitentiary system, and we provide legal advice and representation to victims of ill-treatment by official persons or other severe abuses. In addition, we regularly monitor prisons and other places of detention in order to make closed institutions more transparent.
People are free in a state where the consequences of their actions are predictable and where clean and transparent rules apply not only to the individuals, but also to state authorities. Where the state power has no clear limits, there is no individual freedom either. It is important for us that the Hungarian democracy operates on the basis of the rule of law – that is why we step up in its defence.
Everybody should be treated equally; however, we still experience discrimination at many areas of life. For example, members of minorities can be victims of hate crime. We primarily provide legal aid for detainees and asylum seekers fighting against discrimination.