Budapest (AFP)
Almost all of the journalists from Hungary's main independent news site resigned on Friday to protest the dismissal of their editor, under pressure, according to them, from those close to Viktor Orban's government.
Szabolcs Dull, editor-in-chief of Index.hu, was fired on Wednesday from the country's most widely read news portal, a rare voice critical of Hungarian power in a media landscape where the diversity of opinions has drastically declined in recent years .
In a statement released on Friday, the editorial staff of Index announced that three other editors had "taken the initiative to leave their functions" within the media, "followed by more than 70 journalists", the overwhelming majority of some 90 members of the editorial staff.
Calling Mr. Dull's dismissal "intrusive", they denounced "a clear attempt to put pressure on Index.hu".
Szabolcs Dull was fired after protesting last month against a proposed overhaul of the news site by its owners, saying his independence was threatened due to "outside pressure".
Media management explained on Wednesday that Mr. Dull was sacked for leaking internal documents to the media.
Fears about Index's future emerged in March following the purchase of a 50% stake in the portal's advertising agency by a powerful businessman close to the government, Miklos Vaszily.
Index.hu is one of the handful of websites that continue to claim editorial independence in Hungary, a central European country located at 89th place out of 180 countries in the world press freedom ranking published by the NGO Reporters without limits. He was 23rd when Mr. Orban returned to power in 2010.
Under Viktor Orban's tenure, the media landscape was radically altered: the public media became the relay for government policy, while those close to power bought up whole swathes of the private media sector. Some titles ceased to appear overnight, others were imposed a pro-government editorial line.
These transformations have earned the sovereignist leader, regularly singled out for his authoritarian and xenophobic leanings, numerous warnings from the EU.
© 2020 AFP