TASZ denies reports of consultations with ombudsman’s office

Budapest, September 22 (MTI) – The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) did not hold consultations with the ombudsman’s office on the timing of a report about a scrapped needle-exchange programme in Budapest, the union’s drugs-policy expert said today.

Speaking to public television M1, Peter Sarosi denied allegations that TASZ wanted the ombudsman’s office to delay publication of a report critical of the 8th district local council. He said his NGO’s interest would have been to have the report published before the needle exchange programme was closed down in August.

A report in Friday’s Magyar Nemzet’s online edition suggested that someone from the office of Laszlo Szekely, the ombudsman for fundamental rights, had shared information in a report prepared by the office concerning the programme for drug addicts with the rights NGO before it was published.

Contrary to claims by daily Magyar Nemzet, correspondence published by the paper on Friday were actually between two staff members of the ombudsman’s office, Sarosi insisted, adding that he had not read the ombudsman’s report before it was officially published, nor did any of his colleagues at TASZ.

At the same time, he said it was natural for TASZ to maintain links with the ombudsman’s office, which had started investigating the attacks against the needle-exchange programme after the NGO submitted a report about them. Even after this report was submitted in November 2013, TASZ would keep the office updated about the developments in the case, he added.