Speak up for Hungary!

Attempts to control the funding of NGOs. Attempts to label NGOs that criticize the government as serving the interest of other political parties. Origo.hu, largest online news portal publishes evidence on misuse of public funds by a prominent Fidesz politican. The politician, Janos Lazar places the editor-in-chief and Origo.hu under pressure. The editor-in-chief was displaced.

Norwegian NGO Fund, which is only a small portion of the Norwegian Civil Grant, supports NGOs in several European countries, including Hungary. The Fund is operated by a consortium of four foundations in Hungary (Ökotárs Foundation, Autonomia Foundation, DemNet - Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights, Carpathian Foundation). High profile Fidesz politician and Minister János Lázár opened a debate about the distribution of the Fund’s money being impartial; according to him, foundations in the consortium are linked to left-wing green party LMP. Norway strictly declined the allegations and publicly ensured its satisfaction with the management of the Fund in Hungary. Last Friday, the government made public the list of recipients it considered problematic for "leftist political ties", such as the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union or the investigative journalism portal atlatszo.hu. Yesterday governmental inspectors visited offices of the foundations managing the grants, while the government said their tax number can be legally suspended if they refuse to submit to governmental examination.

Editor-in-chief of leading online newspaper Origo.hu, Gergő Sáling's contract was terminated. Journalists of the site supported the allegation that it happened because of recent articles unveiling possible misuse of public funds. Namely, Origo.hu after winning a freedom of information lawsuit revealed the details of a trip during which Mr. Lazar spent 2 M HUF (~9000 USD) on accommodation. The management of Origo.hu refuses the allegations, altough a many journalists quit Origo immediatley. 

Both the fight on the NGOs and the repression of online media, the last ground of free speech in Hungary resembles of Putin’s Russia and the aspiration to silent the last critical voices.

Share

Related articles

Journalist Wins Defamation Lawsuit

Lajos Gubcsi, former Director of Zrínyi Media Ltd. – a background institution of the Ministry of National Defense – initiated a defamation lawsuit against József Spirk, journalist of Index.hu, the leading online news provider in Hungary. The HCLU’s Legal Aid Service provided legal representation. The court ruled that facts written in the article were well-founded and as a result ruled in favor of the journalist. The ruling is final.

Read more »

Constitution-concerns of the Hungarian Judiciary Elite

Leading Hungarian NGOs, Transparency International Hungary and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union besides expressing their criticism about the new Hungarian Constitution and the Constitution-writing process, wish to express their deep concern regarding the recent initiatives of the parliamentary majority to radically encroach upon the independence of the judiciary system.

Read more »

The Third Wave – the New Constitution of Hungary

In their current, third analysis on the legislative work of the Hungarian Parliament, the Eötvös Károly Policy Institute, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) examine whether the constitution-making process in Hungary meets the requirements deriving from the principle of the rule of law and compares the draft “Fundamental Law” (i.e. the draft of the new Constitution) submitted to the Parliament on 14 March 2011 with the present constitutional system.

Read more »