Hungary has no plans to introduce death penalty, Orban tells Schulz

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary has no plans to introduce the death penalty, “it is only a matter of debates,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban told European Parliament president Martin Schulz on Thursday.

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Orban and Schulz discussed the issue over the phone, cabinet chief Janos Lazar told his weekly press briefing.

Orban also told European People’s Party leader Joseph Daul and group leader Manfred Weber that a debate is ongoing in Hungary about the death penalty but European Union laws will be respected, Lazar added.

The cabinet chief repeated Orban’s comments in connection with the recent brutal murder of a shop assistant in Kaposvar, stating that the introduction of the “three-strikes” law and real life sentences did not have sufficient effect to prevent crime and therefore the death penalty should be kept on the agenda. In cases of brutal crimes committed against children, old people and vulnerable persons, there is social demand for retaliation and many people in Hungary believe that only the death penalty could hold back certain people from committing such crimes, he added.