The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemns recent incidents of obstruction, intimidation and forcible removal of journalists covering campaign events in Hungary and calls for all media to be allowed to report freely on political events ahead of the upcoming election this April.
In the past week, journalists at the leading independent weekly HVG and online news platform Telex were forcibly removed or ejected while reporting on public campaign events supportive of the ruling Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and its allies.
Following these incidents, IPI calls on the Hungarian government, law enforcement authorities and all political parties and their staff to ensure that journalists and media workers can freely attend, report on, and interview supporters and citizens at public campaign events, press conferences and political rallies.
The first incident occurred on 10 March when two Telex journalists were forcibly removed from a campaign event in the village of Csákberény by the local mayor László Vécsei. The journalists, Nóra Siteri and Judit Presinszky, had planned to ask questions of Zsolt Semjén, Hungary’s deputy prime minister and leader of the Christian Democratic People’s Party.
After the journalists entered the event venue, the mayor approached them and attempted to prevent their reporting, first grabbing their camera and covering the lens, and then physically pushing them toward the exit while grabbing one of them by the arm. After the journalists were ejected, a security guard reportedly prevented them from re-entering the building. Telex later filed a complaint with the police accusing the mayor of disorderly conduct.
Days later, on 15 March, journalists Noémi Martini and Anzs Forrás from HVG were physically forced to stop conducting interviews with participants of a pro-government rally in Budapest. Martini was approached by an event organiser who aggressively demanded they stop their work and leave the area, falsely claiming they were blocking the road. She was then surrounded by men, verbally insulted by a Fidesz official, and then pushed by security guards until she left the main rally. HVG reported that other media outlets were allowed to report freely from the demonstration, indicating HVG was specifically barred.
Amy Brouliette, IPI Director of Advocacy, said: ”Journalists have the right to cover political events freely and without harassment, and any interference with that right can undermine the democratic process itself. As Hungary heads into the election this April, we strongly urge authorities and political parties to respect the freedom of the press. IPI continues to stand in solidarity with all independent journalists in Hungary.”
While journalists from independent media or news outlets critical of the government are regularly barred from attending public government events or press conferences of the Prime Minister, instances of media professionals being removed by security using physical force and intimidation are rare.
In recent years, IPI has documented 34 instances of journalists or media workers being blocked or obstructed from public events or government press conferences, affecting 99 different journalists or media workers.
IPI documented both of the recent cases on the Mapping Media Freedom platform of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and filed alerts on the incidents to the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists.
In November, IPI and partner organisations warned after a visit to Budapest that press freedom remains in crisis mode ahead of 2026 elections.
More on IPI’s press freedom work on Hungary
This statement by IPI is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries
