Hungary

Hungary regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Hungary's criminal code contains several substantive offences. The Ministry of Interior, the Prosecutor's Office and the Criminal Police Department of the National Police Headquarters collect data on hate crime as part of general crime statistics.

How hate crime data is collected in Hungary

How hate crime data is collected in Hungary

The Hungarian Police does not have a special unit responsible for recording or investigating hate crimes. However, a list of hate crime indicators to help police detect and classify hate crimes more precisely has been developed by criminal justice bodies and civil society groups. The Hungarian Police does not have special forms or templates for recording, reporting on or collecting data on hate crime cases. The protocol for each criminal offence is identical. When the protocol is recorded, officers can mark a potential hate crime and the category of bias motivation on a statistical card, and should also include bias indicators in the description field in text format. However, it is not possible to mark the bias motivation if the perpetrator is unknown. The prosecutor's office does not have separate records on hate crimes.

Criminal data are collected under the Unified Investigation Authority and Prosecutor's Office Criminal Statistics System (ENyÜBS). ENyÜBS contains data provided by the Ministry of the Interior and the General Prosecutor's Office, including on criminal proceedings conducted by the police, the National Tax and Customs Board and the Public Prosecutor's Office, and is supplemented by data from the accusation phase of the prosecution. ENyÜBS is a follow-up statistical system containing statistical data on registered criminal offences, as data are registered in the system once the investigation is complete. As of January 2019, the statistical system recognizes the bias motivation underlying a criminal offence. The statistics follow protected characteristics included in article 216 of the Criminal Code (the crime of violence against a member of the community) – namely, nationality, ethnic origin, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability – and are not disaggregated by the specific targeted group.

Access more information at the Legislation Online website Legislationline TANDIS Access more information at the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS) website

OFFICIAL DATA

Year Hate crimes recorded by police Prosecuted Sentenced
2020 100 12 Not available
2019 132 39 -
2018 194 52 -
2017 233 Not available Not available
2016 33 33 39
2015 Not available Not available Not available
2014 79 23 Not available
2013 43 30 14
2012 38 16 Not available
2011 37 28 Not available
2010 19 12 Not available
2009 15 18 Not available

About 2016 Data

    Comprehensive crime statistics were reported to ODIHR. The statistics, however, cannot distinguish hate crimes from other crimes that do not have an underlying bias motivation. The numbers presented refer to the crime of "violence against a member of the community." Disaggregation by bias motivation is not available.

National developments

A list of bias indicators was created by the Hungarian authorities in co-operation civil society groups to help identify potential hate crimes. The list includes: the perception of the victim or witnesses; the perpetrators' remarks or gestures; perceived or actual group differences; the appearance and behaviour of the victim; previous and later actions of the perpetrator; the appearance of organized hate groups; location; date; the degree of violence; level of publicity; lack of other motivation.

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY OTHER SOURCES

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2016-08 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-04 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-02 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-04 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info

Anti-Semitic hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2016-09 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-09 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-04 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-09 Attacks against property
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
 Show info
2016-02 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-06 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-04 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info
2016-03 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info

Anti-Christian hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2016-04 Attacks against property
Action and Protection Foundation (TEV)
 Show info

Anti-LGBTI hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2016-09 Violent attacks against people
Transgender Europe (TGEU)
 Show info
2016-12 Violent attacks against people
Transgender Europe (TGEU)
 Show info

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

No information is available.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that the law enforcement agencies of Hungary have not recorded the bias motivations of hate crimes.