Hungary: Journalists report easing pressure after Orbán election defeat

Following the April election that ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule, investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi has returned to Budapest. Panyi had previously fled to Poland after facing smear campaigns and criminal espionage charges filed by the former government.

The new center-right, pro-European administration led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar has begun rolling back the previous government’s media dominance. Shortly after the election, police dropped the espionage complaint against Panyi, which he noted indicated that the judiciary and police had previously been under “tight political control” by the Orbán administration.

In addition to legal shifts, the new government has addressed public media. Following the election, public radio and television briefly aired a message apologizing for years of misinformation, stating, “Public media should not lie. We apologize for having done so for so many years!” Much of the previous leadership in public media has since been replaced.