Hungary’s national police chief has been warned that officers must not assist or stand by while a far-right vigilante group carries out raids and attacks targeting Roma people.
The warning follows an official investigation by Hungary’s Ombudsman into alleged police negligence surrounding the activities of Bűnvadászok, or “Crime Hunters”, a vigilante organisation linked to the far-right Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) party.
The Ombudsman specifically highlighted allegations involving trespass, intimidation, violence and disorderly conduct.
Far-right network
Bűnvadászok was founded and is led by András Bartal, a Mi Hazánk municipal representative in Budapest.
The group is part of the wider Hungarian Self-Defence Movement, a network of far-right “civil defence” organisations.
The group presents itself as a force protecting Hungarians from crime, and claims to intervene in cases involving alleged unauthorised occupation of properties.
But its members have been filmed breaking into homes, demanding personal information, threatening occupants and using physical force to remove them.
In some cases, members have dismantled doors and windows, leaving properties uninhabitable.
Hungarian prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against Bűnvadászok earlier this year following a complaint alleging group vigilantism and violations of personal freedom.
Confrontation
In March, members of Bűnvadászok and Mi Hazánk representatives were confronted by Roma residents in the village of Kálló.
A subsequent far-right rally there attracted around 1,000 supporters and members of affiliated paramilitary groups.
The European Roma Rights Centre says the Ombudsman’s intervention represents an important test of whether Hungary’s new government will break with a history of inadequate protection for Roma communities.
