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| Record number of refugees enter Hungary amid border crackdown fears | Record number of refugees enter Hungary amid border crackdown fears |
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| A record number of migrants and refugees crossed into Hungary on Wednesday, according to official figures, amid fears that Viktor Orbán’s government is preparing a sweeping border crackdown. | A record number of migrants and refugees crossed into Hungary on Wednesday, according to official figures, amid fears that Viktor Orbán’s government is preparing a sweeping border crackdown. |
| Hungarian police recorded 3,221 people entering the country over land from Serbia on Wednesday – the highest number since the crisis began. The figure is thought to be an underestimate, as hundreds of migrants were filmed breaking through police lines and crossing fields near Rözske, Hungary’s border town with Serbia. | Hungarian police recorded 3,221 people entering the country over land from Serbia on Wednesday – the highest number since the crisis began. The figure is thought to be an underestimate, as hundreds of migrants were filmed breaking through police lines and crossing fields near Rözske, Hungary’s border town with Serbia. |
| Austria’s state railway operator said it has suspended rail links with Hungary at least for the rest of Thursday, because Austria cannot handle the volume of migrants crossing its border. “It would be irresponsible to simply let people keep streaming in and spend the night at train stations,” a spokesman said. | |
| There is concern that Hungary’s hardline government is about to introduce a much tougher approach to border control when new legislation comes into force next week. | There is concern that Hungary’s hardline government is about to introduce a much tougher approach to border control when new legislation comes into force next week. |
| The Hungarian army started military exercises on Wednesday to prepare its soldiers for a role in guarding the southern border, state news reported. | The Hungarian army started military exercises on Wednesday to prepare its soldiers for a role in guarding the southern border, state news reported. |
| Human rights groups have questioned the legality of plans to process asylum seekers in airport-like transit zones under a new system that comes into force on Tuesday. | Human rights groups have questioned the legality of plans to process asylum seekers in airport-like transit zones under a new system that comes into force on Tuesday. |
| Orbán has also ordered the speeding up of the construction of a 3.5-metre high fence along Hungary’s southern frontier with Serbia. He has also vowed to cut to zero the number of migrants entering from next Tuesday. | Orbán has also ordered the speeding up of the construction of a 3.5-metre high fence along Hungary’s southern frontier with Serbia. He has also vowed to cut to zero the number of migrants entering from next Tuesday. |
| Explaining the new system, the justice minister László Trócsányi said an area similar to an “airport transit zone” would be set up at the border. | Explaining the new system, the justice minister László Trócsányi said an area similar to an “airport transit zone” would be set up at the border. |
| “While it is located in the territory of the given state, the entry into the transit zone does not qualify, in immigration terms, as an entry into that state,” he said. | “While it is located in the territory of the given state, the entry into the transit zone does not qualify, in immigration terms, as an entry into that state,” he said. |
| Activists fear this will strand people in a legal limbo and lead to the vast majority of asylum seekers being turned back. A widely circulated, but unconfirmed post on the Refugee Relief Action Forum, a Facebook page to help settle refugees in Europe, warned that from next Tuesday, “those who enter illegally, will be captured, jailed and quickly expelled from the country”. | Activists fear this will strand people in a legal limbo and lead to the vast majority of asylum seekers being turned back. A widely circulated, but unconfirmed post on the Refugee Relief Action Forum, a Facebook page to help settle refugees in Europe, warned that from next Tuesday, “those who enter illegally, will be captured, jailed and quickly expelled from the country”. |
| Bill Frelick, refugee rights programme director at Human Rights Watch, expressed alarm and dismissed the transit zones as “legal fiction”. | Bill Frelick, refugee rights programme director at Human Rights Watch, expressed alarm and dismissed the transit zones as “legal fiction”. |
| Speaking to Reuters he said: “Given that almost all of the asylum seekers in Hungary are coming by way of Serbia, in one fell swoop that would be rendering inadmissible nearly all of the asylum seekers that are coming into Hungary.” | Speaking to Reuters he said: “Given that almost all of the asylum seekers in Hungary are coming by way of Serbia, in one fell swoop that would be rendering inadmissible nearly all of the asylum seekers that are coming into Hungary.” |
| It remains unclear what kind of access would be provided in the transit zones for independent monitoring. | It remains unclear what kind of access would be provided in the transit zones for independent monitoring. |
| “It sounds very, very, very horrible,” said Marta Pardavi of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee rights watchdog. “It’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind scenario – facilities that completely lack transparency to the public.” | “It sounds very, very, very horrible,” said Marta Pardavi of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee rights watchdog. “It’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind scenario – facilities that completely lack transparency to the public.” |
| The EU has said Hungary must respect non-refoulement law – the principle that an asylum seeker must be taken in while their claim is assessed. | The EU has said Hungary must respect non-refoulement law – the principle that an asylum seeker must be taken in while their claim is assessed. |
| UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, has also expressed opposition, and urged Hungary to improve its treatment of asylum seekers and act within international law. | UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, has also expressed opposition, and urged Hungary to improve its treatment of asylum seekers and act within international law. |
| Vincent Cochetel, the regional refugee coordinator for the UNHCR, told a news conference: “We do not like the idea of transit zone, if transit zone means that the Hungarian legislation and European standards do not apply there. I do not think the Hungarian authorities at this stage have fully thought through how it can work in practice.” | Vincent Cochetel, the regional refugee coordinator for the UNHCR, told a news conference: “We do not like the idea of transit zone, if transit zone means that the Hungarian legislation and European standards do not apply there. I do not think the Hungarian authorities at this stage have fully thought through how it can work in practice.” |
| Human Rights Watch said refugees are currently being “treated like animals” in detention camps set up at Hungary’s border with Serbia. | Human Rights Watch said refugees are currently being “treated like animals” in detention camps set up at Hungary’s border with Serbia. |
| Further south, thousands of people are braving torrential downpours to cross Greece’s northern border with Macedonia after Greek authorities managed to register about 17,000 people on the island of Lesbos in the space of a few days, allowing them to continue their journey north into Europe. | Further south, thousands of people are braving torrential downpours to cross Greece’s northern border with Macedonia after Greek authorities managed to register about 17,000 people on the island of Lesbos in the space of a few days, allowing them to continue their journey north into Europe. |
| Two extra ferries and additional staff were sent to Lesbos to speed up the registration and ease overcrowding on the island, where more than 20,000 refugees and migrants had been living in precarious conditions after arriving on dinghies from the nearby Turkish coast. | Two extra ferries and additional staff were sent to Lesbos to speed up the registration and ease overcrowding on the island, where more than 20,000 refugees and migrants had been living in precarious conditions after arriving on dinghies from the nearby Turkish coast. |
| About 7,000 people waited in the mud of an open field near the northern village of Idomeni to cross the Macedonian border early on Thursday, with more arriving in trains, buses and taxis. | About 7,000 people waited in the mud of an open field near the northern village of Idomeni to cross the Macedonian border early on Thursday, with more arriving in trains, buses and taxis. |
| Meanwhile, Denmark has lifted transport restrictions to Germany after temporarily closing rail services and a motorway to Germany in an effort to prevent refugees heading north to Sweden. | Meanwhile, Denmark has lifted transport restrictions to Germany after temporarily closing rail services and a motorway to Germany in an effort to prevent refugees heading north to Sweden. |
| Related: 'Now they can stop running': Sweden's sharp rise in child refugees | Related: 'Now they can stop running': Sweden's sharp rise in child refugees |
| Two trains, which had been held at a ferry crossing to Germany were allowed to resume their journey to Copenhagen after around 100 asylum seekers agreed to seek refugee status in Denmark. | Two trains, which had been held at a ferry crossing to Germany were allowed to resume their journey to Copenhagen after around 100 asylum seekers agreed to seek refugee status in Denmark. |
| They were understood to be reluctant to register in Denmark because of restrictions on benefits. | They were understood to be reluctant to register in Denmark because of restrictions on benefits. |
| Denmark’s police chief says his officers have been ordered not to stop hundreds of refugees and migrants who have entered the country via Germany. | Denmark’s police chief says his officers have been ordered not to stop hundreds of refugees and migrants who have entered the country via Germany. |
| Jens Henrik Højbjerg says it is purely a police decision, adding Danish officers “can’t detain foreigners who do not want to seek asylum”. | Jens Henrik Højbjerg says it is purely a police decision, adding Danish officers “can’t detain foreigners who do not want to seek asylum”. |
| The E45 motorway, between Sweden and Germany, was reopened overnight after being closed for several hours on Wednesday when about 300 refugees, including children, began walking on it. | The E45 motorway, between Sweden and Germany, was reopened overnight after being closed for several hours on Wednesday when about 300 refugees, including children, began walking on it. |
| On Wednesday, the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, called for root-and-branch reform of disparate immigration policies in the EU. | On Wednesday, the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, called for root-and-branch reform of disparate immigration policies in the EU. |
| In a major address to the European parliament in Strasbourg, he complained that national governments were failing to observe agreements on asylum procedures, and warned that several countries could be sanctioned. He also confirmed that Brussels was asking national governments to agree to distribute 160,000 refugees currently in Italy, Greece and Hungary. | In a major address to the European parliament in Strasbourg, he complained that national governments were failing to observe agreements on asylum procedures, and warned that several countries could be sanctioned. He also confirmed that Brussels was asking national governments to agree to distribute 160,000 refugees currently in Italy, Greece and Hungary. |