Attacks on the Press in 2007 - Snapshots: Hungary
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | February 2008 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Attacks on the Press in 2007 - Snapshots: Hungary, February 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47c56799c.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
On the evening of June 22, unknown assailants abducted investigative journalist Iren Karman in the outskirts of the capital, Budapest, according to international press reports. The assailants pushed Karman into a car, tied her up, and severely beat her before leaving her on the banks of the Danube River, where she was found by a fisherman, the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) reported. Karman was hospitalized for more than a week and underwent surgery for internal bleeding, MTI said. The 40-year-old journalist had recently published a book, Facing the Mafia, detailing illegal oil sales in the 1990s, and was working on a related documentary at the time of the assault. The book describes the practice of "oil bleaching" – removing a characteristic red dye from government-subsidized heating oil in order to sell it as diesel at a higher price. Shortly before the attack, Karman had complained on an Internet blog that she had been receiving e-mail and telephone threats.
