The government is working hard to obscure the events and to confuse the public opinion following the banning of several editorial offices - including the staff of 24.hu, one of the most read online portals - from Orbán’s annual “Orbáninfo” last Thursday. While the fact alone that the Prime Minister is willing to expose himself -once a year - to journalists independent from the government is a rarity, it is decided entirely arbitrarily who may be given this opportunity and who will be denied entry.
From emerging democracies in transition, illiberal governments have rapidly transformed Hungary and Poland into ill democracies, have attempted to do so in Croatia, and are slowly and carefully entertaining an illiberal platform in Serbia, according to the new case study Resisting Ill Democracies in Europe. The findings, published in English, Croatian, Hungarian, Polish, and Russian by a group of human rights organisations, are based on their study of ill democracy in Croatia, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia.
Hossam Bahgat, journalist and founder of human rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, was released on Tuesday, November 10th after being detained arbitrarily for two days.