The European Commission announced on Monday 13 May that it had asked Hungary for explanations about the ill-treatment of families of asylum seekers, reported by some media and denounced on 8 May by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Hungary forced 11 Afghan nationals to travel to Serbia after rejecting their asylum claims, Reuters reported. It also deported a twelfth Afghan who had been convicted of smuggling migrants directly to Kabul. A family of five other Afghans was also to be sent back, but an appeal was launched, suspending the decision.
According to UNHCR, Hungary’s actions are in “flagrant violation of international law". Two other families were reportedly forced to move to Serbia. This return operation to Afghanistan was part of a Frontex flight that sent 39 people back. UNHCR has asked the agency to be more careful with these returns when they are not “in line with international law”, particularly with regard to non-return.
On 3 May, UNHCR also condemned the practice of depriving asylum-seekers of food, which Hungary continues to apply to young adults. Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos' spokeswoman, Natasha Bertaud, explained that the Commission remained “concerned about these allegations of ill-treatment in Hungary” and that it had already opened offences against Hungary on this subject. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)