The Hungarian government is releasing thousands of foreign prisoners who are currently serving sentences for people smuggling. The only condition is that they leave Hungary within 72 hours. This is evident from a regulation issued by Viktor Orbán’s government at the end of last month. Austria reacted with irritation to this decision. The Interior Ministry said “possible countermeasures” are now an issue.
“Interior Minister Gerhard Karner has instructed the Director General of Public Security to immediately contact the Hungarian authorities and prepare possible countermeasures,” the Interior Ministry said on Friday afternoon.
Smugglers are “criminals belonging to organized crime. Their brutal acts endanger human lives,” the ministry said.
TV station recorded report with hidden camera
The release of the smugglers ordered by Hungary came as a surprise and is not tied to the victims returning to their homeland and serving their remaining sentences there. The private TV channel RTL-Klub showed a hidden camera report on Thursday evening showing five people getting out of a minibus belonging to the local penitentiary near the train station in Szombathely (western Hungary). At the request of the broadcaster, the Ministry of the Interior did not deny that the people shown were released smugglers.
Hungarian criminal law inherently provides for long prison sentences for people smuggling. The sentence ranges from 2 to 20 years. Hungary is located on the so-called Balkan route, which brings people seeking protection from Turkey to Western Europe.
Hungary: imprisoning criminals too expensive
Chancellery Minister Gergely Gulyás justified the move by saying that imprisoning foreign criminals would be too expensive. According to official figures, there are currently 2,600 foreigners in prison in Hungary, most of whom are criminals convicted of human trafficking.
The news portal “hvg.hu” reported on an Afghan smuggler who left for France after his release. According to the portal, many Romanian, Bulgarian and Serbian smugglers would also go to Austria or another Western country after leaving prison in Hungary.
SPÖ Burgenland criticizes Karner
Criticism of Karner came from the SPÖ Burgenland. State manager Roland Fürst said in a statement to the APA: “Since when has the interior minister been aware of the Hungarian government’s plans to release thousands of smugglers and what has he specifically done to prepare border management accordingly?” Fürst pointed out that in a statement to the APA 712 smugglers were arrested in 2022, which is 61 percent more than in 2021. “It is now to be feared that the smugglers released from Hungarian prisons will immediately resume their activities and also will come to Austria,” SPÖ state manager Karner said quickly. Act.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
