- Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/HUNGARY-UNHCR Hungary's new border rules "alarming" - UNHCR
- Date: 15th September 2015
- Summary: ROSZKE BORDER CROSSING, HUNGARY (SEPTEMBER 15, 2015) (REUTERS) EMPTY BORDER CROSSING POLICE VAN BY THE EMPTY BORDER CROSSING ROAD SIGN READING: 'BUDAPEST' (English) ON EMPTY HIGHWAY EMPTY HIGHWAY VARIOUS OF POLICE AT THE EMPTY BORDER CROSSING VARIOUS OF UNHCR SPOKESMAN ERNO SIMON WALKING BY THE EMPTY BORDER CROSSING WITH REUTERS JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR SPOKESMAN, ERNO SIMON, SAYING: "There are many details of the new law, the new legislation, which are really alarming, so for example, we say that Serbia is not a safe third country so people should not be sent back there, we say that if somebody is asylum seeker and crosses the green border, crosses the border not at the official border crossing points, or crosses the border without proper travel documents, proper passport, visa, this is not a criminal offence, this is not against the law, if somebody is asylum seeker, should not be punished, should not be sanctioned because of this." POLICE AT THE EMPTY BORDER CROSSING (SOUNDBITE) (English), UNHCR SPOKESMAN, ERNO SIMON, SAYING: "We at UNHCR, we have been considering Serbia and Macedonia and Greece not safe third country for a long time now and we do not recommend countries to send asylum seekers back to Serbia and these two other countries." SIGNS FOR PASSPORT CONTROL (SOUNDBITE) (English), UNHCR SPOKESMAN, ERNO SIMON, SAYING: "Now we see here that this border crossing point is not closed not only for the migrants, but this is totally closed, at least for the time being, and migrants are not allowed to cross the green border, not allowed to cross this razor wire fence, if they cross they can be punished with, by imprisonment up to five years, if they cut the fence or damage the fence, the punishment is the same." POLICEMAN WALKING AT THE EMPTY BORDER CROSSING SIMON AND POLICEMAN TOGETHER
- Embargoed: 30th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Hungary
- Country: Hungary
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA5418ZWGC41EETNYQYRMR4OK9T
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Elements of Hungary's new border rules are "really alarming", the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday (September 15), expressing concern over the country's decision to designate Serbia as a "safe third country" for refugees to be sent back to and criminal punishments for asylum seekers caught crossing the border illegally.
"We say that Serbia is not a safe third country so people should not be sent back there, we say that if somebody is asylum seeker and crosses the green border, crosses the border not at the official border crossing points, or crosses the border without proper travel documents, proper passport, visa, this is not a criminal offence, this is not against the law, if somebody is asylum seeker, should not be punished, should not be sanctioned because of this," said UNHCR spokesman Erno Simon.
The UNHCR official said that the organisation does not consider Macedonia and Greece to be "safe third countries" for asylum seekers to be sent back to either.
He said asylum seekers caught crossing the border illegally could be jailed for up to five years under the new ruling, and also questioned Hungarian statements that authorities would deal with asylum requests in a matter of hours, which he described as a very small period of time for such complex cases, while denying them official access to the country.
Simon said Hungary has turned back a number of asylum seekers within hours of them submitting claims in no-man's land on the country's southern border, returning them to Serbia.
Simon told Reuters he saw several asylum requests rejected inside a so-called "transit zone" of metal containers in no-man's land, on the first day of a Hungarian border crackdown. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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