Repressive police actions against electronic dance parties violate the civil rights of citizens.
Repressive police actions against electronic dance parties violate the civil rights of citizens.
In its statement released this week the Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) for Civil Rights determined that police has no right to bodysearch and/or drug test all persons inside a dance club for signs of illicit drugs use. According to the Act on Police of 1994, police actions should not cause undue harms to citizens, therefore police can search and drug test only those people who can be suspected of committing a concrete crime – with the only exception of roadside alcohol and drug testing of drivers. The Ombudsman initiated an investigation after a victim of a police raid in the Northern part of the Hungary made an official complaint. After the raid the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) called victims to make official complaints. It also sent FOIA request to police captains commanding raids to get acquainted with public spendings on these actions. The recent statement echoes the position of HCLU expressed by many press releases and open letters in the past, saying that indiscriminative police actions against everbody who enter a dance club violates the constitutional rights of these citizens. HCLU welcomed the opinion of the Ombudsman and emphasized that there are cost-effective social and public health alternatives to repressive police actions in the field of drug control.
Peter Sarosi
