Hungary releases 1,400 convicted people smugglers from prison

Hungary has released more than 1,400 convicted people smugglers from prisons – but faces a legal challenge from the European Commission.

Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, decided in April to release the inmates and give them three days to leave the country.

Hungary said at the time its overcrowded jails were holding 2,600 people from 73 countries – 13 per cent of the prison population – at great cost to the taxpayer.

“We have released 1,468 detainees of foreign nationality who have been convicted of smuggling of human beings,” the National Command of Penitentiary Services told AFP.