CIVICUS discusses Hungary’s foreign agents bill with Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organisation that defends human dignity through legal and public advocacy.
Hungary’s government is further intensifying its assault on civic freedoms. On 13 May, a member of parliament from the ruling Fidesz party introduced a bill targeting organisations, including civil society and media outlets, that receive foreign funding. If passed, those blacklisted by the government would be banned from receiving foreign income, with high fines and dissolution if found non-compliant. Within days, thousands took to the streets of the capital, Budapest, to protest against the proposal, which is being compared to Russia’s notorious ‘foreign agents’ law.
