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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Independent media and rights groups on Wednesday condemned laws passed by Hungary’s right-wing populist government that would allow authorities to investigate and prosecute people accused of abuses. the ruler of the country.
The coalition government consisting of Fidesz and KDNP approved the “sovereignty protection law” on Tuesday. It requires the establishment of a new government that will have the power to collect information on any group or individual that benefits from foreign money and stimulate public debate.
The measure requires Hungary’s secret services to assist authorities in its investigations and allows prison terms of up to three years for anyone convicted of breaking the new law.
Opponents of the law have compared it to Russian law “foreign agents”. and said his broad language could be used to punish critics of the government. The country’s right-wing prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has been sued for a long time take over most of the Hungarian media and the creation of an independent political system undermining democratic traditions.
Representatives of 10 independent news outlets signed an open letter rejecting the law, saying the Hungarian government unfairly accused them of “serving foreign interests.”
“It is a deliberate lie, which discredits not only the libraries that do important work for democracy, but also the Hungarian people who watch, listen and read their material,” he wrote. the press, adding that independent newsrooms in Hungary are clear and not. benefits from “hidden money or subsidies.”
The Hungarian government is arguing that the law is designed to prevent political parties from receiving foreign money for elections, because it is said that it was created by a coalition of six opposition parties before the election. Parliamentary elections in 2022 which resulted in an election. Orbán won his fourth term in power.
In November, Dunja Mijatovic, the European Commissioner for Human Rights, urged the Hungarian government to withdraw the bill, saying “it poses a serious threat to human rights and should be abandoned.”
If the law is accepted, Mijatovic wrote at the time, it will give the Hungarian government “a greater opportunity to silence and discredit independent voices and dissidents.”
A group of Hungarian non-governmental organizations have condemned the law in a letter signed by seven rights groups, including Amnesty International, Transparency International and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union.
The groups called the law “nothing more than a political propaganda project built on secret methods” and charged that it violates the Hungarian, international and EU constitution. They vowed to take legal action against the law and “provide support and assistance to the community, activists and media.”
The passing of the law comes as in Hungary remain in a protracted struggle with the European Unionwhich has cost billions in Budapest due to concerns that Orbán’s government is overseeing democratic retreat and violating the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and asylum seekers.
In a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the four largest political groups in the EU Parliament urged the commission to abandon a plan to release part of the frozen funds if after the Hungarian government made changes to its judicial system.
Lawmakers cited Hungary’s constitutional law as another sign that Orbán has not changed course, noting that the new sovereign authority will be under his direct control and armed with him ” to great powers without democratic oversight.”
“It is clear that an appropriate distribution of EU funds in Hungary is almost impossible,” the lawmakers wrote.