1988. március (32-68. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2

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Editor: György Krassó * 24/D Little Russell Street * London, WC1A 2HN * Tel. 01-430 2126 (from abroad 441-430 2126)

37/1988 (E) 3rd March, 1988

Ferenc Kőszegi Article About the New Hungárián Passport Lav in the Wall Street Journal

In the February 26th issue of the Wall Street Journal an article by Ferenc Kőszeg, one of the editors of the periodical Beszélő, about the new Hungárián passport law which came intő existence on Januray lst vas published. The article points out that the név lav vhich vas publicisea as evidence of liberalisation in Hungárián pol- itical affairs can invariably be used as a means of political discrimination and proviaes the Interior Authorities vith the discretion to vithold the right to travel abroad from anyone. On March 2nd, several days after the article vas published, the Prime Minister Karoly Grósz declared in an interviev on Hungárián Television that "certain elements in the lav may be reconsidered and improved".

In 1986, after a visit to the United States, Ferenc Kőszeg vas forbidden to travel abroad fór five years on the grounds that he did nőt behave in such a vay deemed vorthy of a Hungárián Citizen. A number of others have been denied the right to travel fór similar reasons in recent years. This disqualification although excluded from the név lav is replaced by the Ministry of the Interior vith item a/ paragraph (2) section 12 vhich states that a passport cannot be issued to those "vho seriously infringed the lav of the Republic of Hungary during a previous visit abroad". It is still nőt possible to appeal to the court of justice against a police decision vhich refuses a passport application. Ferenc Kőszeg's article appears in the small scale ^

photocopy on the next page.

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