Hungary amended its criminal code to increase the punishment for homicide or battery on the grounds of age and disability, and to increase the punishment for violent offences on the grounds of disability, “sexual identity” and sexual orientation.
The Ministry of Interior worked with ODIHR to organize a session of its police hate crime training programme, TAHCLE, as part of setting up a specialized unit on hate crimes at the National Police Headquarters.
Official figures record 37 hate crimes based on bias against a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Hungary reported a further 2 cases of racist physical assault.
Hungary reported a case in which a homeless person was attacked by a group of three people that was investigated as an attempted murder.
The Athena Institute reported one serious physical assault by a group against Nigerian refugees, involving pepper spray and brass knuckles.
The Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights Organization reported one physical assault in a prison against a Kenyan man carried out by a group.
The Athena Institute and the European Roma Rights Centre reported one case of damage to Roma homes by stone-throwing during an anti-Roma rally. The Athena Institute reported a further case of threats against a Roma family involving a gun; two incidents of graffiti, both on houses inhabited by Roma families; and one physical assault against a Roma man resulting in serious injury.
The European Roma Rights Centre reported a further case of threats with knives against a group of Roma teenagers on two occasions on the same day; four physical assaults, including against a pregnant Roma woman and her partner, and against a Roma family with a small child; and one case of arson against the home of a Roma family.
The Monitor and Research Group reported a physical assault; one case of graffiti being drawn on the same synagogue on three different occasions; three incidents of desecration of cemeteries, involving damage to more than 100 tombs; and three incidents of desecration of Holocaust memorials. The Monitor and Research Group and Athena Institute both reported one incident of graffiti on a Jewish memorial site and one physical assault by a group against the president of the South-Pest Jewish Community.
The Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights Organisation reported one incident of damage to property.
The Háttér Support Society reported three cases of threats and physical assaults, including one death threat and assault against man who was followed after getting off a bus, and one threat and assault against a man by his neighbours; four further cases of threats; one case of incitement to violence against 31 participants in a gay pride event involving the publication of the organizers’ and participants’ personal details, including their names and location of their hotels; one case of physical assault against several gay men; and the murder of a gay man in his apartment, by stabbing.
UNHCR reported one case of damage to Roma homes by stone-throwing during an anti-Roma rally; a case of threats against a Roma family involving a gun; two incidents of graffiti, both on houses inhabited by Roma families; and one physical assault against a Roma man resulting in serious injury.
The Report by Githu Muigai, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, on his mission to Hungary, noted that Roma in Hungary are experiencing increased bias-motivated violence, including arson attacks against their houses, physical assaults and deaths, and recommended the government improve protective measures for the Roma community, to enact a national strategy to combat violence against Roma, to collect disaggregated data on hate crimes and to ensure such crimes are adequately investigated, prosecuted and appropriately sanctioned.
UNHCR reported one incident of graffiti on a Jewish memorial site and one physical assault by a group against the president of the South-Pest Jewish Community; a further two incidents of desecration of religious sites; one case of vandalism against religious property; and one case of burning an Israeli flag outside a synagogue; and one further case of vandalism against a synagogue.
The Holy See reported ten cases of damage to church property; 89 cases of church desecrations, including seven involving thefts of church property. Hungarian authorities have verified these cases and informed ODIHR of the status of the investigations. While in the majority of the cases the investigation was suspended due to a lack of an identified perpetrator, in four cases the investigation is ongoing or the case has moved to the prosecution stage. Based on information from the police, Hungarian authorities confirmed that no bias motive was found in the cases.
ODIHR observes that Hungarian law enforcement agencies have not recorded the bias motivations of hate crimes.