(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, 25 JUL - Dozens of journalists
walked out of Hungary's top independent news site on Friday in
protest at the removal of its editor-in-chief, with some warning
the events marked the "destruction" of yet another pillar of
press freedom. Index.hu is Hungary's most-read news portal
and a rare independent voice in a media landscape increasingly
controlled by allies of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. On
Wednesday, its editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull was fired, with
management claiming he had leaked internal documents to other
media. That prompted three senior editors to resign on Friday,
followed by more than 80 journalists -- the overwhelming
majority of the newsroom. In a statement, the site's journalists
condemned Dull's dismissal as "an overt attempt to apply
pressure on Index". Miklos Hargitai, president of the Hungarian
journalists' association, said that the events meant "another
dominant Hungarian institution is in the process of being
dismantled, occupied and destroyed by (Orban's right-wing)
Fidesz" party. Index tweeted photos of distraught journalists in
tears and hugging each other as the resignations were announced.
On Friday evening around 3,000 protesters turned out in central
Budapest to express their support for the journalists. Index has
roughly two million readers per day in a country of just under
10 million. (ANSA-AFP). (ANSA).
© Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved