Published 13:32 December 1, 2015

Updated 13:32 December 1, 2015

Hungary detains 17 people for sharing political criticism on Facebook

By NEOnline | IR

---

Hungary detains 17 people for sharing political criticism on Facebook
The former mayor of Siofok, Arpad Balazs, filed a report on defamation. A Facebook entry claimed that the former official of this Hungarian town had sold downtown property for a shockingly low price. The post fell short of questioning the legality of the sale, but pointed out that it was a suspicious transaction.
That former Mayor, Mr Ardapd Balazs, is a member of the ruling party, Fidesz.  He filed a “defamation against a public official” report and the Prosecutor’s Office pursued the case with enthusiasm.
The person responsible for the post is Peter Balaszs Kovacs, a member of the Democratic Coalition (DK) opposition group. He is a high profile personality, having worked on local television as well as a former college professor. He was interrogated along with members of the Socialist Party who shared the post.
The defense for nine of the “suspects” – for sharing the post – was taken up by the Socialist politician and lawyer Csaba Czeglédy. He is arguing that this is a show case as the post itself was not abusive and did not call the former mayor corrupt.
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union started a campaign in November to draw attention to the problem demonstrated by this case. Hungarian legislation now can prosecute both journalists and citizens who criticize politicians in similar cases.
According to the Freedom House “Freedom of the Press Report,” Hungary’s media environment, which has suffered from increased state regulation and other interference since 2010, and deteriorated in recent years. The democratic watchdog suggests that although freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed by the Hungarian Constitution, complex and extensive media legislation adopted since in 2010 has undermined these guarantees.
Apparently, the Fidesz administration has used its supermajority in the parliament to amend the constitution at will. Changes adopted in 2013 included a rule that political advertising during campaign periods may only be placed in media outlets free of charge.
More relevant to this specific case is the fact that the Hungarian penal code places a number of restrictions on freedom of speech through provisions that prohibit incitement to hatred, incitement to violence, incitement against a community, and denial of crimes “committed by national socialist or communist systems.” Defamation remains a criminal offense, and both defamation and related charges—for example, breach of good repute and hooliganism—are regularly brought against journalists, as in this case.