The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of foreign nationals detained under aliens legislation. To this end, the CPT’s delegation visited the two transit zones at Röszke and Tompa situated at the border with Serbia, as well as the Csongrád County Border Police Division in Szeged (Moscow street) and the police detention facility at the border post at Röszke. On the Serbian side of the border, the delegation also held interviews with foreign nationals who had recently been escorted by border police officers to the other side of the Hungarian border fence.

During the visit, the delegation held consultations with Sándor Pintér, Minister of the Interior, László Felkai, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, as well as with senior officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the National Prison Service, the National Police Headquarters and the Immigration and Asylum Office.

The delegation also met László Székely, Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (Ombudsman). Further, meetings were held with representatives of the Regional Representation for Central Europe of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and non-governmental organisations active in areas of concern to the CPT.

At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its preliminary observations to the Hungarian authorities. A detailed report on the visit will be submitted to the Government in due course.

The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:

• Mark Kelly, 2nd Vice-President of the CPT (Head of Delegation)
• Inga Harutyunyan
• Wolfgang Heinz.

They were supported by Petr Hnátík and Patrick Müller of the CPT’s Secretariat, and assisted by an expert, Alan Mitchell, medical doctor, Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre, United Kingdom.