Parliament unanimously passed an amendment on Tuesday under which convicts sentenced for murder cannot be released on parole. Under the changes, parole can be granted in exceptional cases, but these do not include homicide.
According to the new package of amendments submitted by Justice Minister Judit Varga, offenders who have committed a violent crime to the detriment of their relatives and are sentenced to imprisonment for eight or more years, cannot be released on parole.
Juvenile offenders convicted for committing a violent crime over the age of 16, with a sentence of a minimum of ten years imprisonment may not be released on parole either.
Those granted parole will be placed under police surveillance if they were convicted of gross violence, while a restraining order to protect previous victims must be in place unless otherwise justified.
The new rules will also make it easier to place psychiatric patients into mandatory care.
After the amendment was passed, the minister on Facebook said that it was aimed at ensuring protection for victims of crime and to the population at large. The new rules would help diminish the possibility of repeat offenses, Varga added.
The government decided to amend the regulations after several recent murder cases rocked Hungary, in which the perpetrators who had previously been convicted of domestic violence had been released from prison on parole.
The most notable incident happened at the end of last year, when two children in Győr, in western Hungary, were murdered by their father who had been out on parole.
Featured photo illustration by János Vajda/MTI
