Police "occupation" of Csókakő was unnecessary and disproportionate – Ombudsman proposes amendment of the relevant Act

Press release: 

Police "occupation" of Csókakő was unnecessary and disproportionate – Ombudsman proposes amendment of the relevant Act

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has established that the police displayed disproportionate preparedness and unnecessarily restricted the right of citizens to free movement when it declared Csókakő in the county of Fejér an operation area. The police were trying to prevent the initiation ceremony of the new members of the New Hungarian Guard planned for Csókakő, while it took place undisturbed at another venue in Dunaföldvár. In his report Máté Szabó Ombudsman also urges a review of legislation on previously banned uniformed paramilitary organisations.

On 25 August 2012 the police closed the village of Csókakő, making access difficult for local inhabitants and prohibiting it for everyone else. According to the official police communiqué the police decided to do so on the basis of previously received information, which suggested that the event, planned for Csókakő and not notified to the police, would have been unlawful and that some of its participants were preparing to commit criminal acts.

In the course of the on-the-spot inquiry started ex officio, the staff of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights visited the Fejér County Police Headquarters and interviewed the mayor and the notary of Csókakő. The report of the inquiry has established that by closing the village the police unnecessarily and disproportionately restricted the local inhabitants' and tourists' right to free movement and to the choice of the place of stay, as well as their right to liberty of the person and to due process, hindering thereby the realisation of legal certainty and causing an impropriety related to fundamental rights.

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has also established that the existing unclear legal regulation concerning initiation ceremonies of guard members creates uncertainty, and in some cases it can lead to excessive, i.e. unnecessary and/or disproportionate police action considered unjustified by the public, whereas in other cases failure to take measures may cause dissatisfaction among citizens and may undermine their confidence in the police.

The Ombudsman has requested the Chief of the National Police to take measures in order to avoid similar unnecessary and disproportionate police action in the future, and to examine whether anyone is responsible for taking the decision ordering to close the village of Csókakő completely.

Máté Szabó has also requested the Minister of Public Administration and Justice to initiate, in consultation with the Minister of the Interior, an amendment of the Minor Offences Act so that in the future police measures taken against the activities of dissolved associations should be predictable and in conformity with the requirements of due process and legal certainty.