DAMAGES INSTEAD OF PRISON FOR LIBEL

Opposition politicians think the too grave sentences can cause the end of the freedom of speech.

Róbert Répássy MP (Fidesz) said the punishment of libel was too great and the imprisonment for libellous actions could mean the end of the freedom of speech. Balázs Horváth MP, head of the legal cabinet of the Hungarian Democratic Forum proposes to cancel the paragraphs of the law which punished libel with imprisonment and change them for paying damages. He said in Western Europe libellous actions could threaten the existence of papers or channels but journalists were not imprisoned. The Socialists and Free Democrats do not have a clear standpoint in the question.

Translated by Péter Szentmihályi Szabó