The HCLU deeply outraged over the first comments the Budapest Police Headquarters (BPH) have made in the case of the five metropolitan police officers who have sexually assaulted a young woman. The spokesman and other authorities of the BPH have, in their statement disputed the credibility of the young woman and have actually threatened the victim with possible legal action against her.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) has welcomed the proposed bill on amendments of the Act on Police which, if accepted could establish the Independent Police Complaint Body (Body). If formed, the Body could play an important role in the strengthening of civic control of the police, but human rights organizations warn: it is absolutely necessary that the Body consists of such persons whom, due to their expertise and independence from law enforcement organizations guarantee the effective functioning of the complaint-mechanism.

In the press conference following the government’s cabinet meeting on March 21st, 2007, Zoltán J. Gál State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office has informed the public that: „the Prime Minister has appointed three legal experts to prepare the amendment of the Act on Right to Assembly. The task of the experts was to examine whether the draft ensures fundamental human rights and to make sure that it complies with international human rights treaties.” The government, relying on the draft prepared by the legal experts and the findings of the Gönczöl-committee has begun the preparation of the amendment on the Act on Right to Assembly.

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) has taken the Government Control Office to court to make public their report analyzing the failure on the reform of the public administration. The Metropolitan Court has dismissed the HCLU’s action on the liberty to appeal.

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) was honored with the award for it’s innovative and creative social program.

In its judgement, the Metropolitan Court has ordered the HPSHC to release the requested contracts and related documentation on power plants privatization in it’s first instance decision today. Ákos Moskovits, journalist for Manager Magazine, with HCLU’s attorney András Schiffer has filed suit last November.

On Home Birth Day the HCLU in an open letter ask that the Prime Minister facilitate the reassuring and competent settling of the domestic status of planned home births.

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union is pleased to acknowledge that the government has, just before it became valid, revoked the governmental decree amendment, which would have classified bullet and pierce-proof vests, helmets and breast-plates as equipment specifically dangerous to public safety.

The important lesson in this case is that even though hundreds of cameras are monitoring our lives day and night, the police still do not have any evidence backing up the effectiveness of the CCTV in crime prevention. At least the Supreme Court, in it’s decision, has given back a piece of our right to personal privacy by making public when and where CCTVs are watching, thus we will be less at the mercy of those watching us. On the basis of public interest data, it will be easier to judge the price we have to pay for the promise of public safety.

The Ministry of Finance has sent the HCLU the drafts for disclaimer of opinion, which would form the legal confines of how personal data registered in state databases, after anonimization can be used for research.

On Friday the HCLU have called upon the APEH to make public the cooperation agreement with BSA on the grounds of public interest data. The document was made accessible on the internet, even though previously the APEH stated that ’by unwritten law, such documents contain an obligation of secrecy, thus the original text will not be made public on the APEH’s webpage’.

Albert Takács, Deputy Ombudsman of the Parliament has rejected the complaint of the HCLU's attorney in the matter of special healthcare for autists. The HCLU voices its outrage over the letter.