Europe stood by us, now it is our turn – Hungarians protest against Orban

Around 1,000 Hungarians protested against Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday at a pro-EU rally organized by leftist opposition parties, demanding that the government respect democratic rights and other EU values.

Hungary said it would seek legal ways to challenge the ruling which it described as “petty revenge”. However, Hungary is unlikely to be suspended from voting in the EU since Poland and the Czech Republic have said they would back Orban and veto any sanction against Hungary.

“Europe stood by us, now it is our turn,” the organizers of Sunday’s rally in Budapest said in a statement on their Facebook page. “Orban and his Fidesz party lost in European parliament, and Hungary has won.”

Demonstrators at the rally waved both Hungarian and EU flags.

Since he came to power in 2010, Orban has used his parliamentary majority to pressure courts, media and non-government groups in ways his opponents say breach European Union rules. He has been one of the strongest opponents of the EU’s migration policies.