Brussels, 21/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 May, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban described a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as “scandalous”, which requires Budapest to reform its system for reviewing whole life sentences because of respect for human rights.
The ECHR ruled in a judgment published on Tuesday that Hungary had violated several European laws forbidding inhumane or degrading treatment by sentencing a Hungarian citizen to life imprisonment in 2009 without eligibility for parole. Orban described this ruling, which is not final, as “scandalous” and declared that Hungary should reject it.
“This is the ultimate proof that in Brussels and Strasbourg, in the European Union, the rights of criminals are put before those of victims and innocent people”, Orban said, as quoted by French news agency AFP, during a campaign meeting in Kormend (western Hungary) for the European elections. “We must defend this institution of whole life sentences, which is an important means of dissuading criminals and potential criminals”, he stated (our translation).
“For the proper implementation of this judgment, Hungary would be required to put in place a reform of the system of review of whole life sentences to guarantee the examination in every case of whether continued detention is justified on legitimate grounds and to enable whole life prisoners to foresee what they must do to be considered for release under what conditions”, states the ECHR. There are currently 33 prisoners with whole life sentences in Hungary, who have no recourse to appeal against their sentence, according to Hungarian news agency MTI. (LC)