BUDAPEST, Hungry: Hungary has released more than 1,400 convicted human smugglers from prisons, authorities announced Wednesday, a move the European Commission is questioning.
Last month, the European Commission opened legal proceedings against Hungary after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government decided in April to release jailed people smugglers and gave them three days to leave the country.
Hungary said at the time that its overcrowded prisons were holding 2,600 people from 73 countries – 13 percent of the prison population – at a great cost to taxpayers.
“We have released 1,468 detained foreign nationals who were convicted of people smuggling,” the National Prison Service Command told AFP in an email.
Fiercely against migration, Orban accuses Brussels of enforcing laws that he says support migration.
“Hungary had to take this decision regarding people smugglers because Brussels does not contribute to the costs of border protection, but punishes Hungary when prisons are overcrowded,” said Deputy Interior Minister Bence Retvari.
The EU executive says there are no systems in place to monitor whether smugglers serve the rest of their sentences in their home country.
Austria in particular was angered by its neighbor’s decision and tightened controls on its borders.
Hungry has the time of two months to address Brussels’ concerns or the Commission could draw up a case against Budapest.
Orbán often gets into disputes with the European Commission.
In June, the EU’s top court ruled that Hungary had failed to fulfill its obligations under EU law by preventing people from applying for asylum.
