Amnesty International slams Hungary’s treatment of refugees

In the run up to the October 2 referendum in Hungary on whether to accept EU quotas for resettling refugees, a new report by Amnesty International has slammed the country for mistreating refugees and making the asylum procedure too difficult in order to discourage applicants.

In the run up to the October 2 referendum in Hungary on whether to accept EU quotas for resettling refugees, a new report by Amnesty International has slammed the country for mistreating refugees and making the asylum procedure too difficult in order to discourage applicants.

“President Viktor Orbán has replaced the rule of law with the rule of fear,” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe, said in a statement.

In an interview with TIME magazine, Todor Gardos, Amnesty International’s Balkans/EU researcher and co-author of the report, said that from the moment a migrant attempts to enter Hungary, everything is done to prevent them from attaining asylum or refugee status there.

On arrival in Hungary, migrants are restricted to a transit camps set up after Hungary shut its border with Serbia last September.