News outlets and NGOs condemn Hungary’s new ‘sovereignty protection’ law as a way to silence critics

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Independent media outlets and rights groups on Wednesday condemned legislation passed by Hungary’s right-wing populist government that would allow authorities to investigate and prosecute people accused of undermining the country’s sovereignty.

The coalition government made up of the Fidesz and KDNP parties approved the “sovereignty protection act” on Tuesday. It calls for the creation of a new government authority that will have the power to gather information on any groups or individuals that benefit from foreign funding and that influence public debate.

The measure requires Hungary’s secret services to assist the authority in its investigations and allows prison terms of up to three years for anyone convicted of violated the new law.

Opponents of the legislation have compared it to Russia’s “foreign agent” law and say its broad language can be used to arbitrarily target government critics. The country’s right-wing prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has long been accused of taking over the majority of Hungary’s media and building an autocratic political system that undermines democratic norms.

Other news Inflation is pinching Hungary’s popular Christmas markets Orbán says Hungary will block EU membership negotiations for Ukraine at a crucial summit this week Pressure mounts on Hungary to unblock EU membership talks and funds for Ukraine

Representatives of 10 independent news outlets signed an open letter decrying the law, saying the Hungarian government had unjustly accused them of “serving foreign interests.”

“This is a deliberate lie, which defames not only the newsrooms that do vital work for democracy, but also those Hungarians who watch, listen to and read their content,” the outlets wrote, adding that independent newsrooms in Hungary have been transparent and not benefited from “hidden funds or subsidies.”

Hungary’s government argues that the law is designed to prevent political parties from receiving funding from abroad for election campaigns, as it claims was done by a coalition of six opposition parties before a 2022 parliamentary election that resulted in Orbán handily winning a fourth straight term in power.

In November, Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Hungary’s government to retract the bill, saying it “poses a significant risk to human rights and should be abandoned.”

If the law was adopted, Mijatovic wrote at the time, it would provide Hungary’s government “with even more opportunity to silence and stigmatize independent voices and opponents.”

A group of Hungarian non-governmental organizations has also 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 legislation “nothing more than a political propaganda project built upon secret service methods” and charged that it is in violation of Hungary’s constitutional, international and EU obligations. They vowed to take legal action against the law and “provide support and assistance to targeted civil communities, activists and media actors.”

Passage of the law comes as Hungary remains in a protracted struggle with the European Union, which has frozen billions in funding to Budapest over concerns that Orbán’s government has overseen democratic backsliding and trampled on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and asylum seekers.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen , the four largest political groupings in the EU’s Parliament urged the commission to abandon a plan to free up a portion of the frozen funds after the Hungarian government made reforms to its judicial system.

The lawmakers pointed to the Hungarian sovereignty law as another sign that Orbán had not changed course, noting that that the new sovereignty authority would be under his direct control and equip him “with sweeping powers without any democratic supervision.”

“It is evident that a fair allocation of EU funds in Hungary is virtually impossible,” the lawmakers wrote.