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# Refugees
Photos: Migrants treated for suffocation and broken bones after police crackdown
There has been widespread condemnation of Hungary in the wake of the police actions, and the introduction of tough new laws.
THERE HAS BEEN widespread criticism of the actions of Hungary’s government and authorities in the wake of the use of tear gas, riot police and water cannon to deter migrants at the flashpoint Roszke border crossing with Serbia this week.
“We can not accept the statements, nor the attitudes, nor the barbed wire,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said of Budapest’s approach to the influx of migrants and refugees hoping to make their way to northern Europe.
Several other countries, as well as the United Nations, have also criticised the country’s policy towards the migrants, and the violence used against them.
Amnesty International said it was concerned about the proportionality of the police action, which resulted in dozens of injuries.
“Hungary’s unlawful actions should serve as a stark warning to other governments,” Crisis Response Director with Amnesty Tirana Hassan said.
“It’s perverse to treat people fleeing war and persecution as a threat to border security, and any country that follows this example is heading down a dangerous road.”
Photos
A photographer working with Médecins Sans Frontières captured the images below, as its teams responded in the aftermath of the police crackdown.
The organisation says it dealt with cases of suffocation and broken bones among the migrants.
One photo shows medics tending to a man who had been beaten.
Hungary this week sealed its border with Serbia, and has started to close its frontier with Croatia, to cut off a major entry point into the EU for tens of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa travelling through the western Balkans.
Tough new laws also came into effect, giving courts the power to jail people for up to three years for crossing the border illegally, rising to five years if they damage the barrier.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said he is applying EU regulations.
He also blamed Greece for waiving the migrants through, and Germany for relaxing asylum rules for Syrians.
Includes reporting from AFP.
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