By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe (CoE) has condemned Hungary’s planned sovereignty law that could lead to the jailing of journalists, dissidents, and others “threatening national sovereignty” or “serving foreign interests.”
Commissioner Dunja Mijatović of the CoE, Europe’s leading human rights body, also expressed concern about the soon-to-be-established Sovereignty Protection Authority to investigate perceived suspicious persons.
The bill, if adopted, poses “a significant risk to human rights” as the new office would have “unlimited authority to request sensitive data and private information from anyone, without oversight, and without any legal remedy,” Mijatović warned.
It is “so vague that the invasive scrutiny of the proposed office could be weaponized against anybody who may be considered an adversary due, for instance, to activities aimed at influencing democratic debate,” she said.
Ruling rightwing Fidesz party group leader Máté Kocsis said the sovereignty protection bill would “make things harder for those who are selling out our country in exchange for dollars.”
He made clear that the rightwing nationalist government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and its supporters intend to ruffle the feathers of “left-wing journalists, pseudo-NGOs” and “dollar politicians.”
POLITICAL POWER
He accused them of wanting “to gain political power by serving the interests of American Democrat billionaires or multinational companies from Brussels, and then would pay the price for this support by abandoning the economic interests of Hungary.”
If the proposal is accepted, parties and politicians accepting campaign contributions abroad could soon face up to three years in prison.
Kocsis stressed that “serious funding that can be used for elections is coming through [non-governmental organizations] NGOs,” suggesting that non-profit groups are also targeted.
The proposed legislation is vague enough to allow legislators to decide how they interpret terms like “foreign interference” or “influencing voters.”
And “while the terms politician, party, NGO, media or journalist are not used in the proposal at all, due to the wording, practically all fit under the umbrella of the terms that appear in the draft bill,” commented independent news website Telex. “This type of legislation, and provisions being left so vague, are reminiscent of methods typically used by autocratic regimes.”
The European Union has also expressed concerns and froze billions of euros in funding to EU member state Hungary, citing concerns over the rule of law and its democratic credentials.
MORE SOVEREIGNTY
Yet, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has defended his calls for more sovereignty, telling Switzerland’s right-wing populist weekly Weltwoche that Europe “remained under American occupation even after the Cold War.”
He added that Hungary is very envious of Switzerland’s neutrality and lamented that due to its geographical position, Hungary cannot afford to be neutral and leave the EU.
As part of the proposed sovereignty protection law package, the country’s constitution, the Fundamental Law, and the Criminal Code will also have to be modified.
Even though the government called it “rock solid” during its introduction, it is the twelfth time that the Fundamental Law receives additional content.
Sentences like “The protection of Hungary’s constitutional identity and Christian culture is the duty of all state authorities” will be added, according to sources familiar with the text.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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