The International Press Institute (IPI) expressed disappointment over the decision of the Hungarian Parliament’s Justice Committee not to advance a bill that would have repealed criminal defamation and established safeguards against the abuse of civil defamation law.

You must be daring to quip about politicians in Hungary these days: journalists, bloggers and ordinary people have been brought to court for such deeds.

On 23 October 2013 rapper László Pityinger, known as Dopeman, was a speaker at a political demonstration arranged by political group Szolidaritás. During the demonstration the audience symbolically toppled and cut off the head of a statue representing the prime minister of Hungary. The rapper kicked the detached head which resulted in a criminal investigation. Dopeman will be represented by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) during the procedure.

The HCLU recaps the concerns about the Act CIV of 2010 on Freedom of the Press and on the Basic Rules Relating to Media Content

The Hungarian Parliament approved the draft bill on the so-called media-constitution, with the official title: Act CIV of 2010 on Freedom of the Press and on the Basic Rules Relating to Media Content, which was passed in November 2010 and entered into force on 1st January 2011.