Hungary’s government has passed a law that grants nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban special powers to take extraordinary measures to tackle the coronavirus crisis, sparking concerns that it could lead to an ‘abuse of power’.
The law passed on Monday indefinitely extends the state of emergency introduced on March 11, suspends Parliament and introduces jail terms of up to five years for intentionally spreading misinformation that hinders the government response to the pandemic.
Orban’s Fidesz party, which has a two-thirds majority in Parliament, pushed through the legislation despite opposition from other political parties, who had demanded a time limit or sunset clause on the law.
Al Jazeera’s Priyanka Gupta reports.
– Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe
– Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish
– Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera
– Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/
#AlJazeeraEnglish #Hungary #Coronavirus
