Amnesty International Concerned Over Human Rights Violations in Europe Under Guise of Corona Response

Amnesty International has warned against violations of citizens’ rights in some European countries under the pretext of combating coronavirus. The human rights organization says such issues are particularly concerning in Hungary and Poland.

In response to the widespread outbreak of the new coronavirus, almost all countries in the world have imposed significant restrictions on the social life of citizens.

Amnesty International warns that these restrictions in some European countries have led to violations of fundamental citizens’ rights.

On the occasion of publishing its annual report on the situation in European and Central Asian countries, the human rights organization stated that the trend of restricting civil rights observed in some countries since last year has accelerated in the shadow of the coronavirus crisis.

German news agency DPA reported on Thursday, April 16, quoting Markus Beeko, head of Amnesty International’s German section: “The protection of human rights, especially in crises such as the global coronavirus pandemic, becomes increasingly important.”

Necessity of Protecting Vulnerable Groups

He says that in such circumstances, more vulnerable groups, such as the homeless and refugees, should be protected to the same extent that the fundamental principles of the rule of law require.

According to Amnesty International, many of the measures taken to combat the spread of coronavirus are necessary to protect public health. However, the organization warned at the same time that some governments are misusing this crisis to weaken the foundations of the rule of law, take discriminatory measures, suppress, and censor.

Based on this organization’s assessment, in many cases, individuals who have already been marginalized and discriminated against under normal circumstances are those who face greater risk of harm.

Markus Beeko emphasizes that it is the duty of all governments to ensure that measures taken to combat the coronavirus crisis are in line with international and regional human rights protection treaties.

Concerning restrictive measures due to the coronavirus crisis, three countries—Hungary, Poland, and Turkey—are at the center of Amnesty International’s criticism.

Escalation of “Assault on Human Rights” in Hungary

Janine Ulmanziek, an expert on European affairs at the organization, says the Hungarian government has used the coronavirus crisis as a pretext to escalate an “assault on human rights and the rule of law.”

Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, is accused of using the coronavirus crisis as a pretext to concentrate unlimited power and authority in his hands.

An emergency law recently passed in the Hungarian Parliament allows Viktor Orbán’s government to implement its decisions for an unlimited period without needing parliamentary approval.

This bill has faced severe criticism in Europe. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has threatened to impose sanctions against Hungary because of this law.

Amnesty International has also accused the Polish government of using the coronavirus crisis as a pretext to escalate repressive policies. In the shadow of the coronavirus crisis, discussions in the Polish Parliament about restricting abortion and sex education have intensified.

The Turkish Parliament recently passed a bill according to which approximately 100,000 prisoners are to be released from prison conditionally or prematurely due to the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19 disease.

Turkey’s Refusal to Release Some Prisoners

According to Janine Ulmanziek, given the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in most Turkish prisons, this bill is a “reasonable measure,” but it does not include many journalists, civil rights activists, and opposition political activists in Turkish prisons.

Amnesty International has, at the same time, endorsed the measures of some European countries, such as Germany, in combating the coronavirus crisis, saying that in these countries, so far a “good balance” has been maintained between the necessities of combating the spread of coronavirus and restrictions on citizens’ rights.

The head of the organization in Germany has, at the same time, emphasized that given the continuation of the coronavirus crisis, it is necessary to gradually adopt measures so that citizens can exercise their right to hold protest gatherings and freely express and publicly state their political views.

Currently, most European countries are severely affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, and in most of them, gatherings of more than two people are prohibited, except for family members or essential and permitted activities.

According to statistics published by Johns Hopkins University, by Thursday noon, April 16, Germany with nearly 137,800 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection ranks after Spain and Italy, and in this country, more than 3,800 people have died from COVID-19 so far.

In this statistic, the number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in 185 countries worldwide is close to 2 million and 80,000, and the death toll from COVID-19 by Thursday noon stands at 137,193 people.

Source: DW