‘Hungary broke asylum law’

BRUSSELS: The European Union’s top court ruled on Thursday that Hungary had broken the law by preventing some immigrants from seeking asylum and moving many to transit camps.

"Hungary has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law in the area of procedures for granting international protection," the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said. In 2015, at the peak of a crisis which saw thousands of would-be migrants and refugees arriving in southeast Europe and heading north and west, Hungary stood in their way.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist anti-immigration government corralled migrants into transit zones and limited their ability to apply for asylum. The court found Hungary did not allow asylum seekers to leave detention while their cases were considered and offered no special protection to children and the vulnerable.