Hungary: Prison overcrowding, ill treatment by staff and inter prisoner violence highlighted in anti torture Committee report

A new report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) concludes that physical ill treatment by staff, including punches and truncheon blows to the head and body, and inter-prisoner violence appeared to be "particularly problematic" at Tiszalök Prison. Not only do the findings of the visit suggest that staff did not always intervene promptly, but the delegation also heard credible allegations that certain prisoners were allowed or even instructed by staff to mistreat their cellmates (see the executive summary of the report).

Overcrowding and limited resources also continued to affect the prison regime adversely, with most prisoners, in particular remand and high security prisoners, having no or limited access to work, education or other out-of-cell activities.

The report, based on the CPT's periodic visit to Hungary in May 2023, together with the response of the Hungarian authorities, focuses on the treatment of persons detained in police custody, in several prisons, in the Judicial Observation and Psychiatric Institute (IMEI) and patients of two civil psychiatric facilities.

The CPT received no allegations of physical ill-treatment by staff at Székesfehérvár Prison and a few isolated allegations of physical ill-treatment by staff at Nyíregyháza Prison. In contrast, at Tiszalök Prison, numerous credible allegations of physical ill treatment by staff were received, such as slaps, punches, kicks and truncheon blows to the head and body. In some instances, such treatment was meted out while the detained person was hand- and ankle-cuffed. The alleged ill-treatment took place in areas not covered by CCTV cameras, notably in the storage room on the disciplinary/security block, in the medical consultation room, in communal showers and in cells.

Press release
Hungary: Prison overcrowding, ill-treatment by staff and inter-prisoner violence among issues raised in anti-torture Committee report

CPT and Hungary