After two weeks, all asylum seekers in the transit zones are now receiving food as a result of the intervention of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC). The HHC had to request interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on a case-by-case basis for two weeks to ensure that authorities provide food to detained asylum seekers whose claims were found inadmissible. In all cases the ECtHR granted the requests and ordered the Hungarian government to provide food to the 8 affected persons. The Hungarian Immigration and Asylum Office seems to have given up its starvation tactic as it began to provide food to everyone detained in the transit zone, without the need for further interim measures. We welcome the positive change in the authorities’ practice but without legislative changes, asylum seekers can still be deprived of food any time.
