Prime Minister Viktor Orbán approved the measure by a decree issued in April.

Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, justified the measure due to the overcrowded prisons, which drew criticism from the European Union.

By late 2022, more than 19,000 prisoners were serving sentences in this country, 12 percent of them for human trafficking. It means that the decree would affect more than 2,000 people.

The measure’s approval caused friction with Austria, a neighboring country where migrants go to seek asylum. In July, the European Commission opened an infringement procedure against Hungary over the release of traffickers.

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