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The original was posted on /r/worldnews by /u/HelloSlowly on 2023-12-21 12:00:44.
Hungary’s ‘draconian’ new law can be used to punish Orbán critics, US warns | Hungary
Submitted 2 years ago by bot@lemmit.online [bot] to worldnews@lemmit.online
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 2 years ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The US state department has warned that a new law in Hungary “can be used to intimidate and punish” Hungarians who do not agree with the government, adding to concerns from Hungarian journalists and activists who have expressed worries the law is aimed at silencing critical voices.
Hungary’s parliament approved legislation last week that creates a sovereignty protection office with broad powers to investigate Hungarians active in public life.
In a statement on Wednesday, the US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said his country was “concerned by the Hungarian government’s decision today to enact a new law which equips the Hungarian government with draconian tools that can be used to intimidate and punish those with views not shared by the ruling party”.
David Pressman, the US ambassador in Budapest, underscored that the new law gave the new office a lot of power without proper oversight.
While Hungary’s government argues that law is needed to improve accountability and transparency, media outlets and civil society groups say it is designed to undermine independent voices in an environment where critics are already under pressure.
Last week, 10 independent Hungarian media outlets said the law was “capable of severely restricting the freedom of the press”.
The original article contains 450 words, the summary contains 201 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!