The number of sentenced cases is not final as the database for the year 2022 has not yet been closed.
The breakdown below does not include incidents that fall outside of the OSCE's definition of hate crime, such as hate speech.
In 2022, a one-day hate crime training course was organized by the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police Headquarters for specialized officers working in the regions.
A presentation on hate crime was also provided to "beginner prosecutors" (appointed up to three years prior) as part of their training. In addition, the training sessions for the deputy chief prosecutors in charge of the criminal law sections of the capital and the counties were held and included lectures on how to combat hate crime more effectively, how to identify, protect and treat victims with respect, and on the methodology of supervising and managing investigations.
Addressing hate crime and protecting hate crime victims was a main subject at an annual prosecution service conference. Held in November 2022, the conference featured presentations on the difficulties in proving hate crimes.
In a notable case, Roma family members were repeatedly insulted, threatened and physically assaulted by a neighbour. The Veszprém District Court found the accused guilty of two counts of violence against a member of the Roma community, violence against a member of the community with assault, assault and battery, and a crime against traffic safety, and sentenced the accused to two years' imprisonment, suspended for one year and six months. In Budapest, a person was insulted, threatened and physically assaulted because of their Roma origin. Following a successful investigation, the prosecution brought charges against the perpetrator. Also in Budapest, a man threatened two women travelling on a tram with a knife because of their alleged sexual orientation. The Budapest-Capital Regional Court found the accused guilty of violence, sentenced him to five years' imprisonment and excluded him from participating in public affairs for five years.
The category "Unspecified" includes one case of violence against a member of the community. A further two cases of hate speech were reported, but not included here.
The category "Unspecified” covers offenses of violence against a member of the community.
This category includes two hate crime cases committed with a bias based on sexual orientation and three hate crime cases committed with a bias based on gender identity.
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published relevant recommendations in its "Final report on Hungary adopted on 6 December 2022 by ECRI at its 90th plenary meeting (6-9 December 2022)."
ODIHR recognizes Hungary's efforts to enhance the hate crime recording system. However, based on the available information, it observes that Hungary's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Hungary would benefit from reviewing the existing legal framework to ensure that bias motivations can be effectively acknowledged and that appropriate penalties can be imposed on the perpetrators.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States agreed to a common definition of hate crime and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on such crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished from hate speech and extremist crimes throughout the recording and data collection processes. Participating States also committed to enacting specific, tailored legislation to combat hate crimes, providing for effective penalties that take into account the gravity of such crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Hungary in meeting the relevant commitments through its comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further resources and tailored legislative advice.
🛈 Please note that the total number of incidents may be lower than the sum of incidents presented in the breakdown chart above, as some incidents involve multiple bias motivations.
🛈 ODIHR no longer presents descriptions of property attacks in the incident tables below. Data on property attacks are presented in the breakdown charts above. One property attack may target multiple properties or involve multiple types of attack.