BackIn a press release of 13 March 2012 the Hungarian Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Dr. Máté Szabó published his findings on how the police handled two demonstrations held in Budapest in 2011.
In November 2011 people held a sit-down strike in front of the Mayor’s office in Budapest to criticize the criminalization of the homeless. A month later, in December 2011, a hunger-strike was performed in front of the building of the Public Service Television.
The Ombudsman’s ex officio investigation showed that both demonstrations were held in full conformity with the lawful conditions of peaceful assembly. However, the police force did react very differently: While the police acted disproportionate to break up the sit-down strike at the Mayor’s office, it did not intervene at all to resolve the conflict of the second demonstration albeit the fact that both protesters and TV company did turn to the police for support.
