Hungarian Authorities' Cover Up of Brutal Police Interrogation Violated ECHR

The European Court of Human Rights has determined that the Hungarian authorities violated the fundamental human rights of a Roma man by covering up a coercive police interrogation.

The victim, a client of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, was arrested and taken to a police station in 2010. Upon his release, he filed charges against the Hungarian authorities claiming that during the twelve hours of his arrest and interrogation he was brutally assaulted and humiliated by six policemen and two security guards so as to coerce a plea agreement from him.

The policemen told the man they "do not even care if you drop dead. At least there will be one less Gypsy." The incident had a devastating psychological impact on the man.

A few hours after his release from police custody, the man was hospitalised. According to the clinical evidence from the hospital, he sustained injuries to the skull, nose, shoulder, hip, arm, hand and thigh. An investigation initiated based on his allegations was terminated by the prosecutor's office, which maintained that it could not be established beyond reasonable doubt that the assault had, in fact, been committed by the suspects.

Institutional racism

Assisted by the HCLU, the injured party turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), claiming a violation of the prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and the principle of non-discrimination.

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) intervened in the proceedings in order to help the man's case. ERRC requested that the Court take into account the existence of institutional racism in the country.

The ECtHR's judgment held that the Hungarian government had failed to refute the plaintiff's claim that his injuries had been caused at the police station. Furthermore, the Strasbourg court maintained that the investigation conducted by the Hungarian authorities had not been effective, nor had it involved an examination of the potential racist motives of the abuse.

Share

Related articles

What Is The Problem With The Hungarian Law On Foreign Funded NGOs?

On 13 June 2017, the Hungarian National Assembly (Parliament) adopted the Act LXXVI of 2017 on the Transparency of Organisations Supported from Abroad (hereinafter: the Law). It obliges associations and foundations that receives at least 7.2 million HUF annually from foreign source to register with the court as an organization receiving foreign funding, to annually report about their foreign funding, and to indicate the label “organization receiving foreign funding” on their website and publications. The list of foreign funded NGOs is also published on a government website.

INCLO Members welcome Hossam Baghat"s release and remain vigilant

Hossam Bahgat, journalist and founder of human rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, was released on Tuesday, November 10th after being detained arbitrarily for two days.

Guarantee Access to Safe and Legal Abortion in the EU An EU-wide campaign of Human Rights Organizations

On the occasion of the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, nine European civil society organizations are launching this petition directed to the European Parliament, asking for a legal guarantee that human rights standards related to the interruption of pregnancy are respected in all Member States.