One of Hungary's leading state secretaries has said the country will continue to protect its borders and will not allow itself to be made a victim of the migrant business.
Pál Völner, the Ministry of Justice’s parliamentary state secretary, said the case of the two immigrants from Bangladesh, Ilias Ilias and Ali Ahmed, will continue in Strasbourg before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.
Last year, the court ruled against Hungary in the case of the two Bangladeshi citizens, claiming that they were held against their will in the transit zone. Hungary appealed the ruling, and the first hearing in the renewed case takes place on Wednesday.
The state secretary pointed out that the immigrants have been represented by the Helsinki Committee since 2015, when they requested asylum at the Hungarian border. He also recalled that following 23 days of investigation and procedure the Hungarian authorities had issued a legally final decision to reject their requests for asylum.
Financed by George Soros, the Helsinki Committee initiated legal action against Hungary at the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where it ordered Hungary to pay 10,000 euros each to the plaintiffs and 7,500 euros in legal costs.
Regarding the ruling, Völner said it was unacceptable for a sovereign nation state not to have the right to protect its borders.
The state secretary said these cases are about “integrating nation states”, preventing border protection using non-existent regulations that are often at odds with European law, and enabling a flood of immigrants into Europe.
“Hungary will continue to take action to prevent this in future and will continue to represent the interests of Hungarian voters on all international forums," he added.