In the spirit of zero tolerance against violence, on Tuesday the Ministry of Justice submitted a bill on the tightening of the rules relating to conditional release to Parliament. The purpose of the bill is to exclude the possibility of conditional release without exception in the case of persons sentenced to imprisonment for a fixed term due to crimes resulting in the wilful extinguishing of human life, Justice Minister Judit Varga told the Hungarian news agency MTI on Wednesday.

In the interest of the protection of family members, the bill proposes to introduce further tightening, and likewise provides for the exclusion of conditional release in the case of violent crimes committed against family members, the Justice Minister said.

Ms. Varga highlighted that, in the interest of protecting family members, it is necessary to tighten the current regulations also in the case of lesser crimes; therefore, the bill prescribes probationary supervision and the compulsory issuance of a restraining order in relation to the victims in the event of suspended sentences.

With the bill, the government’s goal is to prevent tragic cases similar to the Győr double child murder. We want to make sure that similar tragedies can never happen again, this is why we want to tighten the legislation, by establishing more stringent rules for conditional release, she said.

With the bill now submitted, the Ministry of Justice does not regard the work as completed; they will continue to fight for providing a higher level of protection against domestic violence and for families with further complex packages of measures and consistent legislation. The family law task force set up at the beginning of the year will continue to explore possible further measures which serve prevention and the protection of victims, the Justice Minister stressed, highlighting that the Hungarian government believes in genuine work.

(Ministry of Justice/MTI)