The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights is asking the Hungarian government questions regarding discrimination and segregation of the Roma in its education system, MTI learned on Friday.

Two Hungarian Roma men, both aged 23 and residents of the village of Kesznyeten (NE), turned to Strasbourg after several Hungarian courts turned their discrimination claims down.

The men had attended a special class of their local school from 1994 to 2002, where they were enrolled based on a diagnosis of a learning disability. The diagnosis was confirmed at a higher level in 2000.

The men's lawyer argues that his clients' placement in the special class was an act of segregation and discrimination because of their Roma origins. The lawyer had asked for an independent psychological assessment, which found that the degree of the claimants' learning disability did not warrant placement in a segregated class.

The special needs class the young men attended had a shortened curriculum, excluding sciences and foreign languages, and the instructors had no special pedagogical training.

The Strasbourg inquiry will look into Hungarian criminal procedures and guidelines to see if such issues are dealt with at the appropriate legal standards.