He European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has sentenced this Thursday to Hungary in the case of a Syrian migrant who tried to enter the country irregularly in 2016 and who, when expelled by border agents, drowned while crossing the Tisza River.
The ECtHR has considered that Hungary violated two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, the one referring to the right to life and the one that prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment since there was no investigation into the drowning.
He was the brother of the deceased Abdullah Mohamed Alhowaiswho has brought the case before the Strasbourg Court. Mohamed Alhowais was with him when, with the help of smugglers, they tried to reach Hungarian territory by taking a boat across the Tisza River on June 1, 2016.
Version of the facts
According to the version of Mohamed Alhowais, the Hungarian border agents forced them to return to Serbianshortly after his brother was located in the Tisza river. In his lawsuit, he complained that his death was a consequence of the actions of the police. In addition, there was no effective investigation into the facts.
European judges have imposed on Hungary the payment to the family member, who currently resides in Germanyof compensation of 34,000 euros for non-material damage and 5,600 for legal costs.
