[englisch/französisch]

European Court of Human Right condemns Hungary for its treatment of asylum seekers

In two cases this week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) condemned Hungary for unlawfully detaining at the Debrecen Reception Centre for Refugees asylum seekers, pending the outcome of their asylum claims, without effective judicial review of their detention. Both cases concerned complaints under Article 5§ 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (right to liberty and security).

The first case of Al-Tayyar Abdelhakim v. Hungary (no. 13058/11) concerned a Palestinian national who, after being stopped at the Hungarian border at Záhony (Hungary) in July 2010 for using a forged passport, he claimed asylum, explaining that he came from a refugee camp in Tripoli, Lebanon, where he faced security problems. The applicants in the second case (Hendrin Ali Said and Aras Ali Said (no. 13457/11) were young Iraqi nationals who left their country in August 2009 and entered Hungary illegally, where they launched their first asylum application before being smuggled to the Netherlands. They claimed asylum, alleging that they had been persecuted in Iraq because of their father’s former service in Saddam Hussein’s army and their Kurdish ethnicity. After their interception in the latter, they were transferred back to Hungary in September 2010 under the Dublin II procedure.

The ECtHR concluded that in both cases the applicants were deprived of their liberty for a substantial period of time essentially because the refugee authority had not initiated their release. Thus, the Court held that the procedure followed by the Hungarian authorities displayed flaws that led to the violation of the applicants’ rights under Article 5 § 1 (f) of the ECHR. The Court further awarded the applicants compensation for non-pecuniary damage and costs.

ECRE has recently called on European countries to immediately suspend returns to Hungary under the Dublin system of asylum seekers who have transited Serbia on entering the EU. European countries should examine themselves these applications for international protection.

In the past year, UNHCR has also expressed serious concerns about the situation asylum seekers in Hungary face in its report “Hungary as Country of Asylum” and Note on Dublin Transfers to Hungary of people who have transited through Serbia.

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[FR] Condamnation de la Hongrie e 23 octobre dans 2 affaires
Affaire Al-Tayyar Abdelhakim v Hungary: un Palestinien arreté à la frontière hongroise en juillet 2010 avec un faux passeport. Il a automatiquement demandé l’asile en expliquant qu’il venait d’un camp de réfugié à Tripoli au Liban (sa sécurité était en danger).

Affaire Hendrin Ali Said and Aras Ali Said: 2 irakiens ayant quitté l’Irak en aout 2009, entré en Hongrie illégalement. Demande d’asile effectuée en Hongrie (leur père aurait travaillé dans l’armée de S.Hussein + ils seraient tous les deux Kurdes), puis les deux personnes ont payé un passeur pour rejoindre les Pays-Bas, une nouvelle demande d’asile fut enregistrée là-bas. Ils ont été renvoyé en Hongrie en Septembre 2010 en procédure Dublin II.

Dans les 2 cas les plaignants ont été enfermé parce que l’autorité en charge des demandes d’asile n’avait pas demandé leur libération, ce qui a révélé des manquements dans le fonctionnement des autorités hongroises et la violation de l’article 5(1) de la CEDH (droit à la liberté et la sureté et pas de détention arbitraire).

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