Budapest, Feb 13 (EFE).- The ultra-nationalist government of Hungary is limiting and eroding press freedom so the European Union should take measures and accelerate procedures against the country for violating the bloc’s principles, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Tuesday.
“The clear objective of hollowing out media freedom is to prevent the public from knowing what the government is doing or holding it to account,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“The European Union needs to recognize the attack on media as part of the Hungarian government’s erosion of the rule of law, and take action to address it,” he added.
In the 29-page report, “‘I Can’t Do My Job as a Journalist’: The Systematic Undermining of Media Freedom in Hungary,” HRW highlighted six «areas of concern,» including politicized and biased media regulation, declining media pluralism and political interference in editorial decisions.
It also denounced arbitrary obstacles to journalists’ access to government information, the use of Pegasus spyware against journalists, as well as smear campaigns against independent reporters.
Since coming to power in 2010, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has promoted legislation that limits press freedom, such as the media law, approved in 2011, which established a Media Council, whose chair is appointed by the prime minister himself.
HRW called on the Hungarian government to ensure the «genuine independence» of the Council, guarantee access to public data, and not limit the work of journalists in parliament and at government press conferences.
The nonprofit also asked that the government ensure access for independent and opposition media outlets to state advertising in addition to making the funding of public media transparent.
HRW also urged the EU and member countries to continue the proceedings launched against Hungary over the deterioration of the rule of law and human rights, saying that the situation constitutes a “clear risk of serious breach” of EU’s values. EFE
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