Hungary bans rough sleeping

Sleeping rough in public areas is now against the law in Hungary. The law was brought in by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, but the United Nations called it "cruel" insisting it goes against human rights.

It effectively outlaws living on the streets and was first approved by the Budapest parliament in June. The government says that allowing police to remove rough sleepers from public places is in the "interests of society as a whole".

The law change comes into force on Monday and is a stronger version of a 2013 law that made rough sleeping a fineable offence, reports BBC. Its goal is "to ensure that homeless people are not on the streets at night-time and that citizens can make use of public space unimpeded," according to Attila Fulop, Social Affairs State Secretary.

In June, United Nations housing expert Leilani Farha called it "cruel and incompatible with international human rights law". "What is this 'crime' homeless people have committed? Merely trying to survive?" she said in an open letter to the government.