György Bakondi, Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, has told Hungarian television channel M1 about Hungary’s position on the report released on Thursday by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. He said that in this respect the report contains no factual information , and therefore any investigation into the issue would be unwarranted.

Senior police and military officers continuously check on their personnel fulfilling duties at the border, he said, and they have not heard of any cases of the kind alleged in the report – i.e. physical ill-treatment of foreign nationals claiming to be unaccompanied minors. According to Mr. Bakondi, the report does not even include specific times and locations.

Mr. Bakondi said that the allegations seem instead to be part of the political pressure which has been imposed on Hungary as a result of its migration policy.

He also said that the training of border patrol personnel is necessary, because the Government expects a permanent and prolonged migration threat at the border. In addition, the aim is to reduce the number of personnel from other regions of the country permanently deployed on the border. There is a need, Mr. Bakondi said, to avoid exhaustion among police personnel or a deterioration in public security in areas from which police officers are being drafted.

(MTI)