BackA detainee in Balassagyarmat Prison claimed that disciplinary procedure was initiated against him in the institution, because in his letter he wrote disrespectful words against a judge at the Balassagyarmat District Court.
The Ombudsman's investigation found that pursuant to the decree of the Minister of Justice, the letters of detainees addressed to authorities cannot be checked. A letter written to the court shall not be read by any prison officers; therefore a disciplinary proceeding could have not been initiated against the detainee based on his letter. The head of prison might have discovered the obvious infringement and should have terminated the proceeding at first instance. However, the disciplinary proceeding ended only at second instance by the Deputy Commander.
The Ombudsman also pointed out that the European Court of Human Rights had previously decided against Hungary because a penitentiary institution checked one prisoner’s correspondence with the court in Strasbourg.
The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights noted that Balassagyarmat Prison had seriously infringed the prisoner’s privacy, as well as his right for communication. Therefore, he recommended to the Director General of the Hungarian Prison Service to take actions to prevent similar abuses in the future, as well as to avoid checking the prisoners’ contacts with the authorities, human right defenders or legal representatives.
Source: Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, Hungary
