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Péter Sárosi

Executive Director of the Rights Reporter Foundation.

He is a human rights activist and drug policy expert, the founder and editor of the Drugreporter website since 2004, the author of countless articles, co-author of books and director of films about harm reduction and drug policy reform. He was the Director of the Drug Policy Program at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union between 2004 and 2015. He is experienced in working at international drug policy forums such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He was twice elected to the Core Group of the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs. He is advisory board member of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) and the Steering Committee member of the Correlation European Harm Reduction Network. He was representing the Hungarian Harm Reduction Network at the government’s drug advisory body in Hungary between 2007 and 2015. As a member of the Drugreporter video advocacy team, he has produced videos about drug policy issues in a number of countries. These videos are now part of a unique online drug policy video library.

The Deep Moral Crisis of the Hungarian Establishment

December 4, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

The tale of the anti-gay MEP arrested at a gay sex party is not the first, and probably won’t be the last in the long line of scandals that reveal the deep moral crisis of the Hungarian elite. But will it be enough to shake Orban’s system? On a cold Friday night at the end […]

David Takes on Goliath: The Struggle for Academic Freedom in Hungary

October 11, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

For a month now, hundreds of Hungarian students have occupied their campus and resist the government’s pressure to eliminate the autonomy of their university. Their fight attracted international attention and evoked support from broad ranges of society. In this article we try to put this story in the context and present you the challenges of resisting autocracy in a hybrid regime.

Hungarian Public Foundation Rejects NGO Application for EU Funding over Unlawful Foreign Agent Law

September 30, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

In June, the highest court in the European Union ruled that Hungary’s Foreign Agent Law requiring NGOs with foreign funding to self-identify and disclose their donors was unlawful. A few months later, a Hungarian public foundation operated by the government denied Power of Humanity Foundation, a human rights education NGO, EU funding over noncompliance with the same law. The NGO is asking the European Commission to investigate.

100 Years Ago, Hungary Adopted the First Racial Law in Europe

September 23, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

100 years ago, on 23 September 1920, the Hungarian parliament adopted the so-called Numerus Clausus Law, often dubbed the first racial, antisemitic law in Europe, long before the Nazi racial laws.

Solidarity with Belarus – Protest in Budapest

September 11, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

On 9th of September, exactly one month after the first protests started in Belarus against the unfair elections, the Belarusian community in Budapest organised a demonstration in front of the parliament to support those who fight against police brutality and autocracy in their country. Watch this short video report we produced at the event!

The Great Replacement: A Conspiracy Theory Shared by the Christchurch Terrorist and Orban’s Government

August 28, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

The paranoid white supremacist ideology behind the Christchurch terrorist attack is the same that is used to legitimise the anti-migrant policies of the Hungarian government.

The Hungarian Government is Undermining EU Action Against Lukashenko

August 15, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

While the rest of Europe watched with horror as Alexander Lukashenko unleashed unprecedented terror on its own people, the Hungarian government helped him to stabilize his power.

How the Ruling Party Keeps a Firm Grip on Power in Hungary

July 29, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

Why do so many Hungarians keep voting for the ruling party, Fidesz? Political analysts have been trying to find the answer to this question for several years. There are multiple explanations, some of them are supplementary, others are contradictory to each other.

How to Become a Hungarian Millionaire in Just a Few Weeks Using Public Procurement The Story of a Soccer Player Who Quit the Game and Immediately Won USD 25 Million in Public Funding for Hotel Renovation

June 23, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

A soccer player made USD 25 million when he applied to a public tender without any experience. Here is how he did it. He was in the right place, at the right time – and knew the right people.

Authoritarians Unite: How Orban and Lukashenko Partnered Up in the Crisis

June 9, 2020 by Péter Sárosi

A meeting of two authoritarian leaders serves to demonstrate their joint defiance against external criticism while both leaders launch a renewed crackdown on their oppositions.

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Direkt36 is a Budapest-based investigative journalism center that follows the Pro Publica model of in-depth research and partnership-based distribution to maximize readership. They interpret accountability broadly; they believe in the responsibility to show the public how decisions are made, and to show who really holds the power. András Pethő co-founded Direkt36 with Gergely Sáling and Balázs […]

What Freedom-Loving Hungarians Expect from a Biden Presidency

November 1, 2020 By Lili Török

Joe Biden is favored to win the presidency in the upcoming U.S. elections. He has condemned the Hungarian prime minister and praised “freedom-loving Hungarians.” What would his presidency mean for pro-democracy activists in practice? We interviewed human rights leaders on the ground, who told us about their perceptions of U.S. foreign policy in Hungary, what changed during the Trump era, and what a good relationship with U.S. diplomacy means to them.

David Takes on Goliath: The Struggle for Academic Freedom in Hungary

October 11, 2020 By Péter Sárosi

For a month now, hundreds of Hungarian students have occupied their campus and resist the government’s pressure to eliminate the autonomy of their university. Their fight attracted international attention and evoked support from broad ranges of society. In this article we try to put this story in the context and present you the challenges of resisting autocracy in a hybrid regime.

Hungarian Public Foundation Rejects NGO Application for EU Funding over Unlawful Foreign Agent Law

September 30, 2020 By Péter Sárosi

In June, the highest court in the European Union ruled that Hungary’s Foreign Agent Law requiring NGOs with foreign funding to self-identify and disclose their donors was unlawful. A few months later, a Hungarian public foundation operated by the government denied Power of Humanity Foundation, a human rights education NGO, EU funding over noncompliance with the same law. The NGO is asking the European Commission to investigate.

100 Years Ago, Hungary Adopted the First Racial Law in Europe

September 23, 2020 By Péter Sárosi

100 years ago, on 23 September 1920, the Hungarian parliament adopted the so-called Numerus Clausus Law, often dubbed the first racial, antisemitic law in Europe, long before the Nazi racial laws.

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