Police arrest two journalists after Budapest protest

Some 300 riot policemen dissolved an illegal demonstration of some 100 people at the Batthyány Eternal Flame in Budapest's Fifth District on Saturday afternoon and detained 32 of them, including two internet journalists. Amongst those detained was chief executive of the self-styled Hungarian National Commission 2006 László Gonda.

The police held the activists in custody for several hours and then launched misdemeanour proceedings against them. Hvg.hu staff writer Miklós Barcs was held in custody for four hours and may be fined Ft 40,000 for ignoring police orders to leave the square. Index journalist Zoltán Bogád and his father were handcuffed as they were taken away from the scene.

Demonstration organisers cited a Strasbourg human rights court ruling that declares that police should not dissolve a peaceful demonstration, even if it had not been announced earlier. However Budapest Police claims that the ruling cannot be a legal basis for someone to organise a protest weeks in advance.

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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