Search in Europe, head of government Viktor Orban
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
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Hungary: a ruling-party mayor forcibly removes Telex reporters from a campaign event
A mayor from Hungary's ruling Fidesz party physically removed two Telex journalists from a campaign forum in a community center, covering their camera lens and pushing them out after they declined to leave what he called a closed event.
Access bans · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Ongoing
Hungary: National Sovereignty Protection Act and Sovereignty Protection Office, December 2023
On December 20, 2023, the president of Hungary, Katalin Novák, promulgated the National Sovereignty Protection Act, passed by the National Assembly, Hungary's parliament, during the government of the prime minister, Viktor Orbán. The law c…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Viktor Orban · Reversed
Hungary: investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware
Amnesty International found forensic traces of Pegasus spyware on the phone of Direkt36 investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi, who covers Hungarian national security and diplomacy, as part of the wider Pegasus Project investigation.
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Ongoing
Hungary: Klubradio loses its terrestrial broadcast license over its tender application
Hungary's Media Council ended Klubradio's decades-old terrestrial broadcast license, citing errors in its renewal application, after the station had built a following as one of the country's few remaining independent voices.
Licensing and closure of outlets · Stage Silence · Head of government Viktor Orban · Upheld by a court
Hungary: editor fired and staff resign at Index.hu
Index.hu, Hungary's most-read independent news site, fired editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull weeks after he warned that a change in ownership threatened its independence. Most of the newsroom resigned within days.
Funding and ownership pressure · Stage Pressure · Head of government Viktor Orban · Sustained
Hungary criminalizes false coronavirus information and grants Orban decree powers
Hungary's parliament passed an emergency coronavirus law allowing prison terms of up to five years for spreading information the government deemed false or distorted about the pandemic, and let Prime Minister Viktor Orban rule by decree fo…
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Viktor Orban · Unknown
Hungary: formation of the KESMA pro-government media foundation
Owners aligned with Hungary's governing party donated 476 outlets into one non-profit foundation, KESMA. The government exempted the merger from the antitrust review that would normally apply to a combination of that size.
Funding and ownership pressure · Stage Silence · Head of government Viktor Orban · Sustained
Hungary's parliament gives a government-appointed media council power to fine outlets for unbalanced coverage
Hungary's parliament, controlled by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, passed a media law creating a government-appointed National Media and Infocommunications Authority empowered to fine any outlet, print, broadcast or online, fo…
Funding and ownership pressure · Stage Pressure · Head of government Viktor Orban · Sustained