We filed a complaint after our colleagues were forcibly removed from the Deputy PM's campaign event

On March 10, László Vécsei, the mayor of Csákberény used physical force to remove two of our colleagues, Nóra Siteri and Judit Presinszky from a press conference and public forum attended by Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén.

You may watch the scene in this video:

This is completely unacceptable. We have filed a complaint against the mayor for disorderly conduct. We stand by our colleagues.

Not only are these events unacceptable in themselves, as is all physical violence, but they represent a serious crossing of boundaries in Hungarian public life. Politicians have often tried to avoid journalists' questions in the past, and those in power have been obstructing the work of journalists, including those working at Telex, for years. Until now, however, this has mostly been left to the security forces: on one occasion, police officers led our colleagues away when they tried to ask the prime minister questions, and on another, the TEK (Counter-Terrorism Centre) was sent in to pretend to be checking our camera, so as to prevent our journalists from questioning the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Now, however, it was a politician, a mayor doing the same thing with his own hands: he forcibly pushed our colleagues out from a public political event.

While all this was happening, just behind the mayor, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén was walking away with his colleagues. After the mayor threw our colleagues out, a member of the local civil guard took over the task of keeping them away: he did not allow them back in, and although he had witnessed the violent scene, he said it was none of his business. Several people watched the events unfold without saying a word.

Our colleagues had gone to the community centre in Csákberény because we had been informed that an election forum and press conference would be held there with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén. Before Semjén's arrival, they spoke with the mayor and Fidesz's local parliamentary candidate. As it turned out, the event was organized by the Fidesz candidate, Gábor Törő, who, after a lengthy conversation, finally agreed to allow our colleagues inside.

Then Zsolt Semjén arrived, stopped, and answered a few questions from our colleagues in front of the building. At the end of the interview, our colleagues indicated to Zsolt Semjén that they would like to attend the forum. The Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged this without expressing any objection.

However, when our colleagues entered the foyer of the community centre, the mayor suddenly rushed towards them, first grabbing the camera to cover the lens, then using physical force to push and shove our colleagues out, even grabbing one of them by the arm, as can be seen in the recording.

Violent behavior towards journalists is unacceptable anywhere in the world, but it is particularly serious when it comes from an elected mayor, during an election campaign, in the middle of the European Union.

This is not a communication error or a misunderstanding. This is open violence. Primarily against our colleagues, but ultimately against the public as well.

Journalists are not there as guests at political events and gatherings, but rather as representatives of the public. Our colleagues represent our readers and the Hungarian public in these situations. They are there to ask voters' questions and to obtain information for people about issues affecting their lives.

When the mayor forcibly removes two of our colleagues, he is also removing those on whose behalf we are asking questions, those we are informing.

Moreover, this happened during an election campaign, when politicians are supposed to be competing for the trust of voters. The campaign is supposed to be about what candidates think about the world, what decisions they would make, and how they would respond to various issues. If the response to questions is violence, something is very wrong.

We sent questions to Zsolt Semjén about what he thought of this violent scene and whether he had noticed it at all, given that he walked right past it, but even if he did not see it, whether his colleagues who witnessed it had informed him about it. We also contacted the local Fidesz candidate who organised the event to find out who gave the order to exclude our colleagues and what he thought about the way it was done.

Naturally, we also sent questions to the mayor, László Vécsei: Does he consider it compatible with his position as mayor to have used physical force to remove two of our colleagues from the event? Does he consider such violent behavior acceptable from a human perspective? Has he sought to contact them afterwards to apologize for his unacceptable behavior?

We continue to believe that, as a responsible press outlet, we cannot accept "leave the premises" as an answer. This is what our readers expect from us, and this is what we expect from ourselves: to ask questions under any circumstances, and we remain committed to doing our job.

Violence should not be acceptable to anyone. It certainly isn't acceptable for us.