The suspects from the city of Szeged have coerced their victim into prostitution for years. In another trafficking case, the prosecution is seeking the imposition of executable imprisonment against 13 members of a criminal organisation.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented the 20th annual TIP Report on June 25, which –recognizing the past year’s efforts – upgraded Hungary’s ranking.
The European Commission invites law enforcement agencies and NGOs to form a consortium and apply for the open call entitled “New methods to prevent, investigate and mitigate trafficking of human beings and child sexual exploitation – and on the protection of victims”.
Members of a criminal organization operating in Nyíregyháza were arrested by the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Police. The organization forced their victims into prostitution in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, and Germany.
Two girls coming from the poor eastern part of Hungary were lured to the city of Győr, then forced into prostitution. The Győr-Moson-Sopron County Chief Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges of qualified felony of trafficking in beings against a man who already knew the victims and invited them to Western Hungary, while a local couple who bought them dirt cheap will face charges of trafficking in human beings and procuring for prostitution.
The Criminal Code, the Act on Minor Offences, the Act on Organized Crime as well as the Child Protection Act were amended with a view to protecting children from sexual exploitation.
A 45-year-old man from the town of Miskolc has been arrested on well-founded suspicion of trafficking in human beings and living on earnings of prostitution. In another case this year, members of a criminal group specializing in brothel prostitution will also face prosecution.
"Joint Action against Trafficking in Human Beings addressing the Culture of Impunity" under the Internal Security Fund – Police of the European Commission has been published and is open until 29 April 2020.
On December 12 and 13, 2019, meetings of the National Anti-Trafficking Coordination Mechanism and the NGO Round Table took place to discuss domestic anti-trafficking activities. Mátyás Hegyaljai, Deputy State Secretary for European Union and International Affairs, National Coordinator of Hungary's Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, reported on actions, experiences, professional developments over the past nearly six months, and also summarized trends, efforts taken and plans for their respective fields.
The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the National Institute of Criminology (OKRI), held a training course for police officers, prosecutors and judges in the counties most affected by the phenomenon of human trafficking (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Heves county).