WRITTEN QUESTION E-2711/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(26 September 2002)

Subject: Prison conditions in Hungary

1. Can the Council confirm that prisons in Hungary are run by army personnel?

2. Can the Council also confirm that family visits to prisoners who are not violent and do not constitute any particular security risk (classified in class 3) are restricted to one hour a month and are allowed only from behind a glass wall with a telephone link so that there can be no physical contact whatsoever between visitors and prisoners?

3. Is the Council aware that in the new prison opened in April 2001 in the south-eastern city of Szeged (address: Doroszmai Ut 25, postcode 6728) cells of 28,25 m2 designed for six prisoners have now been converted into cells for 12 people, i.e. 2,35 m2 per person including bunk beds and other furniture, as a result of which the improvement in accommodation brought about by the new building has been completely cancelled out?

4. What follow-up has there been to the complaint made by the Helsinki Committee to the Szeged prison?

5. Is it true that Hungary, with a prison population of 20 000 and a total population of 10 million, also has 10 000 people at liberty awaiting trial, and that it has a large number of prisoners in relation to its population?

6. Can the Council confirm that detention on remand in Hungary can last a very long time and that those whose guilt has yet to be proved are subject to the same prison regime as convicted prisoners?

7. Have issues such as the length of legal proceedings, the degree to which custodial sentences are used and the accommodation of prisoners, been raised in the discussions on Hungary's accession to the European Union?

8. What can the Council do, on behalf of the EU, to improve the situation of prisoners in Hungary and ensure that they meet the higher standards that are usual elsewhere in the EU?

Reply

(20 February 2003)

The Council attaches the utmost importance to the respect, by the candidate countries, of the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. With regard to Hungary, the Council notes that the Commission's 2002 Regular Report on Hungary's progress towards accession, which was issued on 9 October 2002, has concluded that Hungary continues to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria and has made considerable progress since 1997 in further consolidating and deepening the stability of its institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for the protection of minorities.

As regards the specific issues raised by the Honourable Parliamentarian, the Regular Report states that Hungarian prisons continue to be overcrowded, but apart from this problem, meet international standards. Over the reference period, additional facilities have been made available following the modernisation and extension of some old buildings and construction of a new penitentiary institution. Under the Government's long-term development programme, further projects are under way to improve overall accommodation facilities in Hungarian prisons. Concerning the length of legal proceedings, the Regular Report notes that Judicial proceedings are reasonably expeditious. The majority of proceedings at first instance are finished in less than one year.

The Union will, in any event, continue to monitor the situation regarding civil rights in the framework of the pre-accession strategy and, should the need arise, will discuss matters of concern with the Hungarian side, in particular within the bodies established by the Europe Agreement such as the Association Council and Association Committee.