On Wednesday, index.hu, Hungary’s leading independent news website announced it had fired its editor-in-chief, Szabolcs Dull, a month after he had warned the organization about its independence from the government is at risk.
Several Hungarian journalists view Dull’s sacking as a major concern as they accuse Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government of increasing an “attack on press freedoms” in Hungary to win favorable coverage.
Employees of index.hu in a statement called the sacking as “unacceptable” and stated that they “cannot regard it as anything but an open attempt at pressure, which will lead to the end of independent editorial work.”
The Hungarian government made no immediate comments but later denied interfering in the situation.
Concerns about the independence of index.hu grew after Miklos Vaszily, a pro-government businessman, this year acquired notable power over the website’s fundings.
Rebutting the claims about the website’s fading independence, index.hu’s chief of the foundation, Laszlo Bodolai, said, “The political independence of Index is not at risk,”
Dull on the other hand believes he was removed because of notices he wrote on index.hu regarding attempts of outside influence, and also because of the graphic warning he published on the website’s independence gauge since 2018.
On July 7, a senior European Commission official had stated concerns about the independence of index.hu and said that the values the organization was fighting for were “essential for democracy”.
The European Commission has accused Hungary of degrading the rule of law and has started a legal process that could lead to the implementation of financial sanctions against the country.
Referring to the situation at hand, Miklos Hargitai, chair of the Hungarian Journalists Association, said, “Press freedom could fall victim to the coronavirus”.