Hungarian authorities have detained right-wing blogger Istvan Szakacs. The official reason was an alleged plot to prepare a terrorist act. However, politicians from Fidesz argue that the real reason for his detention was his criticism of Prime Minister Peter Magyar and his call for public protests.
Hungary’s public news channel M1 suspended broadcasting on Tuesday after the appointment of a new interim management team at MTVA.
Instead of the regular programming, M1 viewers saw the following message on their screens: “Public media must not lie. We apologize for having done so for years. State media are currently undergoing reorganization so that they can become independent and trustworthy in the future. The news service has been temporarily suspended. We ask for your patience.”
The situation strongly resembles what happened in Poland after the December 13 coalition took power.
Hungarian Public Television Goes Off the Air
On Wednesday morning, Hungarian authorities detained right-wing blogger Istvan Szakacs. According to the Mandiner news portal, at around 6:00 a.m., seven police officers entered Szakacs’s home, detained him, and searched the property.
The blogger was charged with preparing a terrorist act. However, according to Fidesz (Fidesz) politician Peter Takacs, the real reason was a video commentary in which Szakacs told Prime Minister Peter Magyar that reports about the possible arrest of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban could lead to hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets.
“Tyranny has reached a new level. The police will arrest you if you dare to criticize the prime minister. Today it’s him, tomorrow it will be you. Don’t let this happen,” Viktor Orban commented following news of Szakacs’s detention.
Before noon on Wednesday, Szakacs announced on social media that he had been released by the authorities.
On Thursday, Fidesz, Orban’s party, is organizing an anti-government demonstration in Budapest.