Hungary anti-terror plan is 'attack on human rights' - Amnesty

Amnesty International on Monday slammed plans by the Hungarian government to introduce sweeping anti-terror laws including curfews and Internet restrictions, calling the proposal an "attack on human rights".

According to a draft leaked to the media last month, the cabinet of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to amend the constitution by creating a new category of emergency -- "terror threat situation" -- that if declared would enable it to issue decrees, suspend certain laws, and modify others.

Among some 30 proposed changes are controls on the Internet, domestic deployment of the army, border closures, and the imposition of curfews in areas affected by a terrorist threat.

Amnesty said the government proposal "devolves near absolute power on the executive", which would lead to "a full frontal assault on human rights and the rule of law", in a report released Monday.

If adopted, the changes would have "profoundly negative consequences for human rights in Hungary", the campaign group warned...
 AFP
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