🇭🇺⚖️🗳️🇪🇺 Want to know where do we go with the rule of law and democracy in Hungary now that we know who won? On Wednesday, 11 AM Berlin time, join me, @martapardavi.bsky.social, Edit Zgut-Przybylska and Csaba Gyory for a webinar on the future of EU values in the country! Zoom registration link below.
Just after Israel's attack on Hezbollah in 2024, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government offered issistance to Iran, the key sponsor of Hezbollah. And now Vance is in Budapest, supporting Orban.
From Catherine Belton
wapo.st/41RvEFd
Our 1 April Flash Report is out
The primary risks to electoral integrity stem not from election-day procedures but from the structural conditions that shape the campaign environment, access to resources, and the information space as well as inefficient legal safeguards. helsinki.hu/en/flash-rep...
I told n-tv.de how exclusion is not a side effect but a core feature of 🇭🇺’s political system. Political loyalty determines access to resources, independent actors face systemic barriers. @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social documents these patterns and supports those affected.
www.n-tv.de/politik/Wer-...
Award-winning Hungarian journalist @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social is threatened with a criminal investigation for his excellent and important reporting on national security and intelligence. He covers Russian influence and the close links between Moscow and Budapest.
apnews.com/article/hung...
💥🔎 INVESTIGATION: A secret operation tried to bring down the IT systems of Hungary’s opposition party Tisza. Party-linked IT specialists planned to expose it, but police—under pressure from the secret services—raided them on what appear to be trumped-up charges. More: www.direkt36.hu/en/titkosszo...
💥Due to Putin’s ex-interpreter Daria Boyarskaya playing a key role in the OSCE PA’s election monitoring mission, Hungary’s leading NGOs are limiting cooperation and withholding non-public information.
Boyarskaya is sanctioned by Poland and was previously detained by Lithuania.
As things look now a supermajority is far far from a realistic scenario…
Here's the documentary that 1.1 million Hungarians have watched over the past week, documenting the damage that Viktor Orban's regime has done to health, education and public transportation in Hungary
with English subtitles:
youtu.be/9NQEcLIiOpM?...
How media capture and targeted pressure work together to narrow the space for independent journalism in Hungary 🇭🇺
New report by @mertekmonitor.bsky.social @beabodrogi.bsky.social Rule of Law Lab at NYU Law
➡️ www.law.nyu.edu/rule-law-lab...
Viktor Orban has also pledged, in his annual address earlier this month, to “clear out” after the April elections media and civil society organisations deemed to threaten “sovereignty.” Fidesz already directly or indirectly control 80 percent of Hungary's media.
In this week's digest from the Hungarian election campaign trail: Ukraine oil rows, Viktor Orban vows to finish off the job against civil society and independent media after April election and accuses the Shell oil company of being behind the opposition.
A big win for online transparency and platform accountability!
The Berlin Court of Appeals has ruled that X must give us access to the research data we need to study information manipulation during Hungary's April elections.
📣 Are you an early- or mid-career scholar or practitioner passionate about #Democracy and the #RuleofLaw in #Europe? Apply now for the re:constitution Fellowship 2026/2027!
@democracyreporting.bsky.social
@stiftungmercator.bsky.social
“Orbán wants voters to believe that change itself is the greatest danger. Magyar wants them to believe that stagnation is. For the first time in 16 years, the outcome is genuinely open. And that uncertainty alone marks a profound break with Hungary’s political past.” @bironagyandras.bsky.social
In @theguardian.com today: my analysis of 🇭🇺Hungary’s 2026 election.
Opposition challenger Péter Magyar is ahead in the polls on a promise of hope. Viktor Orbán is betting on fear of war to stay in power.
✅ Read the article here: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Are you a human rights defender?
ODIHR's online game is a fun approach to a serious topic, helping human rights defenders stay safe while doing their important work.
🎮 Play it now: t.co/LSGxG2RiaJ
Overall, the developments in Hungary we document in our 2025 Rule of Law Report submission show a continued and serious disregard for EU values, EU law, and CJEU judgments. Read the full report: helsinki.hu/en/hungarian...
NEW -- Our 8th contribution with our Hungarian NGO partners to the @ec.europa.eu consultation for the annual Rule of Law report. We cover
⚖️ the justice system,
🛑 the anti-corruption framework,
📰 media pluralism and media freedom, and
🏛️ institutional checks and balances. helsinki.hu/en/hungarian...
Hungary 12 April elections - @odihr.pl recommends an Election Observation Mission:
core team of analysts
+ request the secondment by OSCE States of 18 long-term observers
+ 200 short-term observers to follow
election day proceedings
+ media monitoring
odihr.osce.org/sites/defaul...
It’s official: Hungary’s parliamentary elections will be held on 12 April.
Our threat assessment highlights serious risks to election integrity, including breaches of domestic and international democratic standards.
helsinki.hu/en/2026-elec...
Quote: “The disclosure of around 200,000 Hungarians’ personal data is the largest politically motivated rights violation in post-1989 Hungarian history. Judges appear to be a key target of this doxing attack.”
In Hungary, judges are being doxed – their names, addresses, and private data leaked and publicized for supposed political leanings.
TAMÁS MATUSIK traces how this new wave of intimidation exposes the fragile state of judicial independence in Hungary.
verfassungsblog.de/hungary-judg...
⭐What does it take to turn legal victories into real change?
At our STARLIGHT 2.0 webinar, one message rang clear:
🗣️ Strategic litigation isn’t just about winning cases, it’s about reshaping systems, and amplifying silenced voices.
That’s what our programme is built for 👇
Webinar recording 👉 bit.ly/4oabcbV
Call for applications 👉 bit.ly/4o9Pmph
🤝 @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social ky.social
@hertieschool.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu
Congratulations to Miklós Haraszti, who is today awarded the 2025 Mark Palmer Prize by Freedom House @freedomhouse.bsky.social freedomhouse.org/article/free...
In Hungary, where TV, radio and print newspapers are dominated by pro-government messaging, YouTube has become a lifeline for independent journalism, attracting large youth audiences with witty and critical political content. @lilirutai.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/interna...
The next Article 7 hearing in respect of Hungary will be held on 21 October in the General Affairs Council.
9 Hungarian civil society organisations outlined key developments, priority concerns, and recommendations on 13 topics under scrutiny.
Our new paper: helsinki.hu/en/wp-conten...
Across the V4, politicians have increasingly used paid social media ads to attack journalists, human rights activists, and civil society. Experts warn that algorithms favouring polarising content leave the door open for manipulation and harassment. @vsquare.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/vsqu...
Meta and Google are introducing political ad bans on their social media platforms in the EU. How will political parties across Europe — particularly Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesz party in Hungary — respond? www.dw.com/en/how-victo...
Crazy money spent on political ads on Meta/Facebook in Hungary 🇭🇺. Fidesz, the government and aligned actors have bottomless pockets. New EU rules on political ads should have a huge impact.
From Lakmusz, the 🇭🇺 member of @edmo-eu.bsky.social lakmusz.hu/2025/10/06/a...