Jenő Kaltenbach Resigned from Hungarian Independent Police Complaints Commission
05 July 2010
Budapest, 5 July 2010: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Chance for Children Foundation (CFCF) would like to express their regret about the resignation of Dr Jenő Kaltenbach from the position of chair of the Hungarian Independent Police Complaints Commission, effective 1 July 2010. In a letter submitted to the Chair of the Hungarian Parliament, the groups called upon the Hungarian Parliament to strengthen the authority of the Commission and maintain its independence in the wake of Dr Kaltenbach’s departure.
Robert Kushen, ERRC Managing Director, stated “Under Dr Kaltenbach’s leadership, the Commission established itself as a credible and independent watchdog to ensure the accountability of the police. This independence was guaranteed last but not least by the personality of the chair. We call on the Hungarian Parliament to ensure that the Commission maintains its independence and strengthens its mandate. We echo the call of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), which this month asked the Hungarian government to authorise the Commission to launch inquiries ex officio into alleged police misconduct.”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is an independent agency of the Hungarian Parliament which started its work in 2008. The Commission was established with the purpose of creating an independent body falling outside of the structure of the Police in order to ensure impartiality in investigating complaints submitted against police misconduct. The Commission examines whether police actions have violated fundamental rights. In the last two years the Commission has examined more than 600 complaints.The independent Commission is composed of five members, including the chair. Dr Kaltenbach was the first Chair of the Commission and is presently the Board Chair of the ERRC.
A sajtónyilatkozat magyar nyelven elérhető.
For more information, contact:
Sinan Gokcen, ERRC Media and Communications Officer, sinan.gokcen@errc.org, +36.30.500.1324
Erzsébet Mohácsi, Chance for Children Foundation Director, Chair of the Board, mohacsi.erzsi@cfcf.hu, +36.1.323.0882
