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Budapest protest targets Orbán curbs on foreign-funded groups

10.06.2025 11:00
Hungarian writer and media personality Róbert Puzsér will lead a rally outside parliament on Tuesday evening to protest what organizers call Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s tightening grip on independent media and civil-society groups.
People attend a protest by Momentum Movement entitled Free Country, Free Press, Free Elections, which was held against the adoption of the bill On The Transparency Of Public Life in front of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty in Budapest, Hungary, 16 May 2025.
People attend a protest by Momentum Movement entitled 'Free Country, Free Press, Free Elections', which was held against the adoption of the bill On The Transparency Of Public Life in front of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty in Budapest, Hungary, 16 May 2025. EPA/Boglarka Bodnar

Puzsér, announcing the event on social media, said it was “the last moment to defend freedom” before Hungary drifts toward a “Eurasian Union.”

The demonstration is backed by public figures under the banner of a newly formed Citizen Resistance Movement.

Recent laws passed by Orbán’s Fidesz-controlled parliament permit hefty fines on organizations or news outlets that receive foreign funding if officials deem they have “attacked Hungary’s sovereignty.”

Another law, justified as child protection, bans Pride marches and “LGBTQ propaganda” directed at minors.

Organizers did not forecast turnout, but analysts said Puzsér’s name recognition could draw a large crowd in a city where opposition protests have periodically swelled since Orbán returned to power in 2010.

The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Orbán says the measures defend national values and shield children from inappropriate content; critics call them tools to silence dissent and marginalize minorities.

(jh)

Source: IAR