On Friday, three senior editors and over 70 journalists resigned from Hungary’s most-read and well recognized independent news site Index.hu due to sacking of the Index.hu’s editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull.
The resignations by Hungarian journalists are in protest of the removal of Dull, as fears of government interference and influence on media grow across the country.
Dull was removed because he had warned the organization about its independence from the government falling at risk.
In March, after Dull’s warning, 50 percent of Index’s advertising agency was purchased by pro-Prime Minister Viktor Orban businessman Miklos Vaszily.
In a statement, the resigned journalists condemned Dull’s removal as “an overt attempt to apply pressure on Index.hu”.
Friday also saw thousands of Hungarians marching towards Prime Minister Orban’s office protesting against government curbs on media freedoms.
In recent years, most Hungarian independent media outlets have either been bought by government allies or have gone out of business.