Hungarian pro-Government weekly publishes blacklist naming alleged "non-conformists"

Yesterday Hungary’s pro-Government Figyelö weekly published the names of 200 people whose views do not conform to those of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, alleging that they belong to a group the PM has labeled as “mercenaries” working for the American financier of Hungarian origin George Soros, according to the Associated Press. The blacklist includes primarily members of groups defending human rights, anti-corruption organizations, defenders of refugees, investigative journalists, and also officials of the Central European University (CEU), headquartered in Budapest, which was established by Soros.

Some of the people on the blacklist are actually no longer alive. Orbán scored a big victory in Sunday’s Parliamentary elections.

The governing Fidesz party, along with its coalition partner the Christian Democrats, defended their two-thirds majority in the legislature. The PM has already let it be known that he believes such a strong result confirms the correctness of his policies despite criticism of them from Brussels.

Orbán based his election campaign on demonizing immigrants and accusing Soros and NGOs supported by him of intentionally flooding Hungary with thousands of migrants. In March, among other matters, the PM declared that the Government knows the names of 2 000 members of what he alleges is the “Soros mercenary army”.