More than 200 names of people part of a group regarded by Prime Minister Orbán as “mercenaries paid by George Soros to topple the Government.
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2018-055-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2018
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 47.162494
Longitude: 19.5033041
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Hungary
- From Region
- Type of record
- Unnamed individual/group/organization
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
The list included members of human rights and anti-corruption organizations, refugee advocates, investigative journalists and faculty and officials from the Central European University, a number of which have cooperated with the United Nations and have been publicly intimidated for reporting to or about the United Nations.
- Type of rights defended
- Unclear in SG Report
- Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
cooperated with the United Nations and have been publicly intimidated for reporting to or about the United Nations
- Engagement with UN body
- Unclear
- Type of attempted engagement
- Unclear
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 12 April 2018
- Reprisal information
On 12 April 2018, Figyelő, a publication in Hungary, published more than 200 names of people part of a group regarded by Prime Minister Orbán as “mercenaries paid by George Soros to topple the Government.” The list included members of human rights and anti-corruption organizations, refugee advocates, investigative journalists and faculty and officials from the Central European University, a number of which have cooperated with the United Nations and have been publicly intimidated for reporting to or about the United Nations. A number of media outlets have accused some of the names on this list of making complaints to the United Nations against the Government.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Defamation / Defamation campaign
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- Non-state actor(s)
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 3 August 2018
- Government response content
With regard to the allegations attributed to the publication Figyelő, the Government affirms that the “impugned acts are not attributable to the Government” given that Figyelő is not a publication of the Government, and that it “does not see how reporting about the activity of an NGO by the independent press would prove that the Figyelő publication is a result of the complaints filed with the UN.” Further, the Government notes that the domestic courts are available for redress in the case of infringements by media outlets.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2019
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
The 2018 report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/39/41, paras. 55–56) noted the listing by the Hungarian publication Figyelő of more than 200 individuals who were accused of being part of a group regarded by Prime Minister Orbán as “mercenaries paid by George Soros to topple the Government.” The list included people who had been publicly intimidated for reporting to or about the UN. The Government informed OHCHR in July 2018 that the allegations are not attributable to the Government given that Figyelő is not a State publication (A/HRC/39/41, Annex, para. 59). During the reporting period, OHCHR was informed that the “Figyelő list” has continued to contribute to increased stigma on and threats to human rights defenders, civil society organizations, investigative journalists, certain segments of academic community and other critical and independent voices. In addition, family members of those on the list report being fired from employment or being threatened to be fired.
- Followup Trends 0
- Stayed same
- Did the government respond? 0
- No