19-year-old asylum seeker starved and illegally detained in Hungary’s transit zone
A young Iraqi man who was separated from his family and denied food for 8 days while in a transit zone in Hungary is now suing the Hungarian state with the help of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee in Strasbourg. The asylum seeker, known as H.L., had fled Iraq with his family and had his asylum request rejected twice, resulting in his detention in the Tompa transit zone for 306 days.
During his detention, H.L. was deprived of food for 8 days as the Immigration and Asylum Office (BMH) no longer provided food to adults in the immigration detention center. His younger siblings had to provide him with food until the Hungarian State was ordered to feed him by the Strasbourg Court through the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
H.L. was detained in harsh conditions, housed in a container, and closely monitored by security guards. He was not allowed to leave the detention center without armed police escorts, and he was discouraged from seeking asylum in Serbia. After the European Court of Justice ruled to close transit zones, H.L. was released and now resides in Austria.
The recent ruling by the Strasbourg Court found that the Hungarian state had violated the law by subjecting H.L. to inhuman and degrading treatment, including starvation. As a result, the Hungarian state was ordered to pay EUR 3,000 in compensation to H.L.
Róbert Miskolczi, the lawyer representing H.L., stated that while transit zones have been abolished, asylum seekers continue to face challenges, especially those not coming from Ukraine. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is working to end forced returns and protect the rights of asylum seekers.
In another recent case, an Arab woman detained in a container for suspected infections won a lawsuit against the Hungarian state, resulting in a EUR 3,500 compensation order from the European Court of Human Rights. The woman had been held in solitary confinement for 14 days under harsh conditions before being released and settling in Germany.
These cases underscore the ongoing challenges faced by asylum seekers in Hungary and the efforts of organizations like the Hungarian Helsinki Committee to protect their rights and seek justice for those who have been mistreated by the state.
