Budapest: About 1,000 Hungarians protested on Monday on charges that the government used Israel’s pegasus spyware for illegal supervision of public figures in Hungary, drawing comparisons with the country’s communist past.
The protesters gathered at the Terror Museum House in the Capital, Budapest, who commemorated victims of Nazism and Communism, and marched to the Fardsz Party headquarters who regulate.
Criticizing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, several singing: “Vicator.” “This (allegations of illegal supervision) is the last straw for me,” said one protester, Marcell Csupor.
“This reminded me of the communist system, and showed that the country violated from the West and floated to the east.” The government, which is contrary to many other EU member countries for the issues of the rules of law and democracy, has not commented on the allegations outside saying Hungarian intelligence collection was carried out legally.
A report by a group of 17 international media organizations and Amnesty International this month said Pegasus Spyware, was made and licensed by the Israeli company NSO, used in hacking and efforts to hack the smartphone belonging to journalists, human rights activists in several countries.
Direct36, Hungarian partners in the media outlet group, said they were targeted for supervision including journalists, employers, lawyers and critical people on the Hungarian government.
The Hungarian prosecutor has launched an investigation into many complaints received since the report.
NSO said the product was intended only to be used by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime.
In Hungary, which was ruled by the Communist for four decades after World War II, the Minister of Justice approved supervision in national security matters.
Miklos Hajnal, a member of the opposition momentum party that regulates protests, called the largest pegasus case scandal in Hungary since the transition to democracy in 1990.
“It is unacceptable in the country where people are used to work with the socialist regime,” he said , “There is a reason for the existence of security services, but cannot just hold fast to power.”