Socialist warns against detention system that ‘humiliates’ migrants

Budapest, February 14 (MTI) – Asylum seekers entering Hungary should be properly screened, but the authorities should not abuse or humiliate them during the vetting process, Zsolt Molnár, the (Socialist) head of parliament’s national security committee, said on Tuesday.

Speaking to public Kossuth Radio about the government’s planned reintroduction of migrant detention, Molnár said that if brought back, the regulation should guarantee fair asylum procedures to migrants.

Government office chief János Lázár first announced plans to reintroduce a system for detaining migrants last month. Accordingly, migrants who submit an application for asylum will be banned from moving around freely on Hungarian soil until their case has been ruled on. Also, rejected applicants will be banned from crossing Hungary’s borders until they have received a binding ruling.

Asked if his party supported the planned regulation, Molnár said they had yet to see the draft legislation. The party will only be able to determine whether such a system would serve the security of Hungarians and Europeans, as well as whether or not it concords with European Union law, after it has reviewed the actual proposal, Molnár said.