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full screenAustrian police check cars at the Slovakian border last September. Photo: Theresa Wey/AP/TT
Austria tightens border controls against its neighbor Hungary, reports the public service company ORF. It is mainly about increased checks on vehicles from Hungary, Romania and Serbia that want to enter Austria from the Hungarian side.
The reason is that following a decree by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary will release foreign nationals convicted of people smuggling provided they leave the country within 72 hours.
Around 2,600 foreigners from 73 countries are in prison in Hungary, most of them convicted of people smuggling, ORF reports. Hungarian media say 700 people have already been released, most of them from Serbia, Romania and Ukraine.