Tamas Bodoky, editor-in-chief of the Hungarian media watchdog and independent journalism outlet Atlatszo, has won the 2015 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Digital Activism.

Atlatszo, an OCCRP partner, was founded in 2011 to bolster independent journalism in Hungary. Bodoky is being recognized for his work to “empower citizens in the face of this deteriorating situation for human rights.”

His digital activism includes investigative reports on the National Bank of Hungary and the Hungarian tax authority (NAV), as well as setting up a secure whistleblowing platform called MagyarLeaks which allows citizens to anonymously share tips and data with journalists.

Despite being placed on a non-governmental organization (NGO) blacklist by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government last year, Bodoky and Atlatszo continue their work.

In November 2013, Atlatszo worked with whistleblower Andras Horvath, a former employee of NAV, to write more than 20 articles on a large-scale VAT evasion scheme worth  € 3.2 billion (US$ 3.4 billion). NAV responded by accusing Horvath of libel, and police raided his home.

In a December 2013 interview with Euronews, Horvath said, “People who expose corruption have to be afraid.”  

Atlatszo’s fraud reporting has been noticed. It announced on Jan. 22 that NAV would take the organization to court to demand an apology and a million Hungarian forints (US$ 3,518) in compensation. Bodoky says Atlatszo will fight the charges when the case goes to trial in May.

International Attention

It appears that Hungary’s NAV has not been doing its job.

The US State Department took a stance against corruption within NAV by placing a travel ban on six Hungarian tax officials in October 2014. The State Department did not release the officials’ names, but Ildiko Vida, chief of the tax authority, admitted to being one of the six.

This month, an audit of NAV released by Hungary’s State Audit Office alleged that NAV failed to collect 3.8 trillion Hungarian forints (US$ 13.6 billion) from 2009 to 2014.

Horvath’s testimony in 2013 alleged that NAV was allowing billions of forints of tax fraud each year by deliberately failing to inspect particular companies, and not resolving system malfunctions. He cited an incident in which a tax inspector was allegedly ordered to stop an investigation into a large grain supply company that is suspected to have committed fraud worth a billion forints (US$ 3.6 million), according to Euronews.

Bodoky said it was the visa ban against tax officials in October that first “made clear for the larger public that there is corruption in Hungary, and that there is a problem.” Orban’s proposed tax on the internet in October 2014 added fuel to the fire, and about 100,000 Hungarians protested in Budapest as a result. The proposed tax would charge 150 Hungarian forints (US$ 0.62 at the time) per gigabyte of internet usage, with a household user cap at 700 forints per month and 5,000 forints for companies, according to Bloomberg.

International organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, have voiced their concerns about ruling party Fidesz’s increasingly authoritarian actions and its harassment of independent media. Most recently, Fidesz announced plans to implement a flat five percent tax on media income from advertising, hindering news sources that are not state-supported.

As international attention has focused on public protests and NAV, Fidesz’s approval ratings have plummeted by a third since winning last year’s general election.

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