Hungary: Pirates demand release of arrested opposition politicians

Budapest/Brussels, 14/07/2022 – Today, two leaders of the Hungarian opposition party MKKP (Two-Tailed Dog Party), Suzi Dada and Gergő Kovács, were arrested during peaceful protests in Budapest against a new legislation raising taxes for small firms, independent journalists and artists. The European Pirates demand an explanation from the Hungarian government, the release of all protesters and a public apology.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén of Viktor Orban’s FIDESZ government proposed a draft law on new rules for small-scale entrepreneur taxation, which was adopted by the Hungarian Parliament within 24 hours. The new regulation targets the popular tax scheme KATA and will result in significant tax increases for around 450,000 Hungarian citizens. As a result, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the main square beside Hungary’s parliament to protest the law for the second day in a row.

Mikuláš Peksa MEP, Chairperson of the European Pirate Party, comments:

“Top leaders of the opposition party were detained during the protests in Budapest. Such actions by the Hungarian authorities cannot be tolerated. The European Pirates demand the immediate release of all protesters and an apology from the police. FIDESZ attacks the most vulnerable with their cynical agenda to remain a tax paradise for multinational companies.”

Mészáros László, a board member of MKKP, comments:

“The injustice is enormous: Orban introduces an unfair system abolishing the simplified taxation system for small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Now, they will be treated the same way as large-scale businesses, that have significant capital and lobby power. The law targets FIDESZ’s last remaining enemy in the country: independent journalists and artists on KATA, the flat taxation system – two in one.”