Thousands of human smugglers are in Hungarian prisons

The prime minister’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said yesterday that there were some 2,000 human smugglers in prison in Hungary, 88 percent of whom are foreigners and 97 percent male. Hungary’s prison capacities are sufficient but such inmates pose a great burden on the country therefore their expulsion is a preferred choice, he added.

Government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi said that 860,000 refugees had arrived in Hungary so far fleeing from the war in Ukraine, some 27,000 applied for and 23,000 were granted refugee status.

Concerning the recruitment of “border rangers” to protect the Schengen borders, Gulyás said over 6,000 people have expressed interest so far. The interior ministry has envisaged to set up a 2,200-strong force by September which will later be expanded to 4,000, he said.

Gulyás said that at recent talks between Orbán and the Austrian chancellor, the protection of the EU’s external borders was a highlighted topic. Austria has offered help for the protection of southern borders, he added. It was agreed that the two countries’ prime ministers would meet the Serbian president in the coming weeks, he said. It is a problem, however, that Slovenia’s new left-wing government had immediately started dismantling the fence along the Croation border, Gulyás said.

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