Crowd Protests Dismissal Of Portal Editor In Budapest

(MTI) – A demonstration started in front of the offices of news portal Origo in central Budapest’s Dob Street on Tuesday afternoon to voice protest against the dismissal of the portal’s editor in chief.

Speakers at the demonstration read out statements of portals Index, 444, Atlatszo and Origo itself to express solidarity with Origo’s editors and support the freedom of the press.

According to press reports, the editor in chief, Gergo Saling, was removed from his position on Monday under political pressure.

The protesters chanted “free country, free media!” and walked to the Prime Minister’s Office next to Parliament, where the protest ended peacefully.

On Tuesday morning, Origo cited consumers’ changing demand for media services as the reason for reorganisation and changing its editor. Origo’s editorial staff, however, protested against Saling’s dismissal, and said that “continued operation is not guaranteed”.

Protesting in a statement, the Association of Hungarian Journalists said that the gesture was a “message to the independent media”. “A power, which strives to intimidate and muffle the media it cannot control directly, is unacceptable in a democracy,” the statement said.

Origo, owned by Hungarian Telekom, has rejected allegations of being under political pressure.

Photo: MTI – Zsolt Szigetvary

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters