Demonstrators show solidarity with daily Népszabadság

Budapest (MTI) – Demonstrators showed their solidarity with daily Népszabadság on the square in front of Parliament late on Saturday.

The demonstrators, who included a number of the newspaper’s staff, other journalists and politicians from the opposition, filled the centre of Kossuth Square.

Many chanted “Népszabadság”, “Democracy”, “We will not allow it”, “Orbán must go” and “Free country, free media”.

Népszabadság’s owner, Mediaworks, said on Saturday it was suspending publication of the newspaper to focus on shaping a new business model. The paper’s circulation has dropped 74 percent while it has racked up more than 5 billion forints (EUR 16.4m) in losses over the last ten years, Mediaworks noted.

Népszabadság journalist Miklós Hargitai told the demonstrators that staff scheduled to work on Saturday had not been allowed into the paper’s offices. “That shows exactly how much of a business decision this was,” he added.