Council of Europe experts: Hungary must repeal 'STOP Soros' law
BUDAPEST - A group of experts advising the Council of Europe is calling on Hungary to repeal its so-called "Stop Soros" law, which threatens to incarcerate people helping refugees.
The Venice Commission said Friday that certain provisions of the law "disproportionally" restrict the rights of civic groups as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
The commission said that while many European countries criminalize activities like human trafficking for financial gain, the new law in Hungary makes no exceptions for groups providing humanitarian assistance, putting them at risk of prosecution "even if they act in good faith in line with international law for supporting asylum-seekers or other forms of legal migrants."
Hungary claims financier George Soros and civic groups he supports promote mass migration into Europe, a charge they deny.
