Hungary is failing to crack down properly on hate crimes against Roma because its police lack the skills to recognise and investigate such crimes, Amnesty International said in a report.
Amnesty cited the case of six Roma who were killed by a group of serial offenders in nine attacks across the country last year. Two men with a history of extremist sympathies were finally arrested in the case in August but they have yet to be sentenced.
"Hungarian authorities failed to identify and respond effectively to violence against Roma in Hungary, including by not investigating possible racial motivation," Amnesty said.
"Although there are existing provisions to combat hate crimes they are not being properly implemented, including because the police lack capacity to recognize and investigate hate crimes and lack training."
Amnesty said Hungarian authorities were not collecting the data necessary to identify trends in hate crimes. It said the law also needed to be strengthened to ensure tougher punishments for crimes that were racially motivated.
The far-right Jobbik party, which has vilified the estimated 700,000 Roma living in the country, got into parliament for the first time in elections in April, grabbing 12 percent of parliamentary seats.
TV NZ
