Hungary Outlaws Homelessness

The Hungarian Parliament has passed a controversial law against homeless persons.

According to the new law, persons caught sleeping in urban areas can be sentenced to community service or fines, while those who build illegal shacks in the city's outskirts can be imprisoned, reports the BBC.

Civil Rights groups gathered on Monday night to protest against the new law in front of Parliament.

The government responded these measures are in fact designed to help the homeless and that there are enough shelters for them.

A civic rights activist from Budapest estimates that there are as many as 10 000 people living on the streets of the capital or in its surroundings.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party has been proposing tougher crackdown on the homeless for several months.

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