Hungary’s media regulator will not extend the operating permit of Klubradio, an independent outlet whose license is due to run out next February, authorities said on Friday in Budapest.
The regulator said in a statement that it plans to close down the outlet due to “ongoing legal violations.”
Klubradio, a news and talk radio station, is one of the last independent outlets with any influence in Hungary.
The authorities plan to put the rights for Klubradio’s broadcasting frequency out to tender.
Its frequency is limited to the Budapest region.
The media council allocates frequencies and ensures media law is followed.
Members of the council are all supporters of the country’s right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Klubradio’s boss, Miklos Arato, rejected the claim that his outlet had broken the law, telling news portal 444.hu: “If we had broken any important laws, they would have imposed serious penalties, but they didn’t.”
“They could have just said in the statement that they don’t like us,” Arato said.
The shutdown is one of a series of government measures to silence critical media outlets.
In July, a business close to Orban silenced an independent online news portal, index.hu, through a hostile takeover.
Nepszabadag, the country’s biggest opposition news daily, was closed down in 2016 after being bought by one of Orban’s supporters from Austria. (dpa/NAN)
