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| NEWS > 04 July 2007 |
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IPS - Italy
04 July 2007
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Hungary: RIGHTS: Who Protects
In a year rich in riots and police violence, the Hungarian police have now completely lost the trust of the public after a group of policemen allegedly raped a 21-year-old woman.
The rape affair was just the tip of the iceberg in a succession of kidnapping, theft, corruption and smuggling cases which has reverberated at the top level of Hungarian politics.
The minister for justice, the national police chief, Budapest's chief of police and the head of the security service all resigned or were sacked in the following days and weeks.
In spite of the government's cosmetic measures, research shows public opinion is steadily losing faith in law enforcement agencies after the series of incidents involving policemen.
The girl had been stopped on May 11 by policemen who noticed she was not wearing a seat belt. She claims she was subsequently raped by two policemen as another three watched.
The accused were recently released but investigation against them continues. While DNA tests have not proven their guilt, experts claim rape could have still happened, and a trial would then follow.
The suspects claim the woman fabricated the event and point to contradictions in her account. Most Hungarians doubt that anyone would falsely accuse five policemen of rape.
The conservative opposition has seized the opportunity to blame the socialist government of instituting a culture of impunity since last fall when, following an admission by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány of having lied on the state of the economy, unidentifiable policemen acted violently on protesters.
However, observers of the Hungarian reality tend to agree that the unethical behaviour of several policemen in Hungary is a phenomenon that started right after the collapse of state socialism in 1989.
The fact that every fifth officer is under disciplinary procedure in Hungary is quite telling.
Corruption is the key word, says sociologist Ferenc Hammer, who told IPS that "bribing a policeman is not even humiliating any more; it is like going to the store to buy bread." The sociologist said money and power have become more sacred than law to many policemen, and that the attitude is widespread at both the higher and lower levels.
His concerns are shared by Mark Fodor, director of the Hungarian office of Amnesty International. "Police abuse can be found in any of our yearly reports, and we either don't see prosecution or only light sentences."
The case has been brought to Amnesty International's attention because it has combined with another highly disturbing trend in Hungarian society: prejudices against women that can result in rape.
An Amnesty International report quotes a police 'expert' on rape who claims that 85 percent of rape accusations come from prostitutes who are unable to agree on a price.
"The typical prejudices are coming from the police themselves, the first thing the police said on this case is that it was probably untrue," Fodor told IPS. "We know of a case in which a woman reporting rape had to listen to policemen persuading her for half an hour not to press charges," adds the director.
These situations reflect a serious flaw in Hungarian legislation which does not consider those cases in which no serious physical resistance was offered to be rape. The Council of Europe defines rape as an instance in which sex occurs without mutual consent.
The latest case is exceptional for its visibility, as rape cases "usually are not followed with interest by the public," Hammer told IPS. "But the latest case is very serious, a bunch of policemen raping a woman does not happen in any country."
Regardless of the veracity of the case, many are discomforted by the defence lawyer’s approach to the case, which is focusing on discrediting the alleged victim and perpetuating prejudiced views on women.
"There is a campaign of sorts to discourage this woman," Fodor told IPS. "This is discouraging to other women, who fear they'll be believed even less if they come out."
A strong indication of police prejudice and intimidation techniques came when the lawyer of the alleged rapists said the victim was "no nun".
Hungarian lawyers are familiar with this method. "They are going to try to find all arguments that will deteriorate the authenticity of the alleged victim, to say she actually invited the people, that she was an easy-going girl," a female lawyer told IPS on condition of anonymity.
"Rape victims will become afraid that an additional punishment awaits them," the lawyer added.
Another question will be how to rehabilitate the police in the eyes of the public. Law enforcement agents lack training at all levels, internal control has been abolished, and now only external mechanisms function, while there is more need for civilian control of the police.
Corruption and low salaries have also added to the explosive cocktail found in Hungarian law enforcement agencies.
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