Gergely Homonnay, an activist of Ferenc Gyurcsány, argued in court that the Hungarian government stigmatizes sexual minorities, and called the minister without portfolio responsible for family affairs a homophobe. In the defamation case, the DK activist was found guilty today by the Pest Central District Court and ordered to a one-year probationary period and to reimburse the court costs.
Ismert, the minister without portfolio responsible for family affairs, Katalin Novák, filed a lawsuit against DK activist Gergely Homonnay last year, because he attacked the politician in an obscene manner. The activist regularly shares content with a harsher tone. On December 16, 2020, for example, the amendment to the Basic Law expressed its opinion, and under the entry
he called the minister a "Nazi worm".
The first hearing of the defamation case was held on July 5, where Homonnay appeared online. The proceedings continued today, September 6, and while Katalin Novák and her lawyer attended the hearing in person, the DK activist and her legal representative joined online. Homonnay wrote an apologetic post on his social media page yesterday, but on the day of the meeting he did not deny that he called Katalin Novák a Nazi in just one post, a caricature.
The DK activist indicated in response to the lawyer's questions that he does not publish his comments and posts for personal reasons, he criticizes the minister as a government official. As he said, he does not consider himself a public figure either, and has not been a journalist for a year. He published his post on his own page, and although the post was public, he later took it down. Katalin Novák only added that the post was addressed to Speaker László Kövér, so the "Nazi worm" comment is considered a personal insult.
Source: mandiner.hu/illustráció
After the evidence procedure, the minister's lawyer pointed out: Homonnay made his defamatory comment in public, which caused a great response not only on social media, but also in the press. The defamatory post clearly referred to Katalin Novák, and as it turned out, the DK activist published it for personal reasons. The legal representative pointed out that the freedom of expression does not extend to defamatory comments that offend persons and it must be considered whether it is an extreme, overheated expression of opinion or self-serving defamation.
The comment offends human dignity and does not help the public dialogue, he added, explaining: Homonnay's apology is not a mitigating circumstance, because it was not sincere, and he asked for a fine and reimbursement of the fees.
In his speech, the lawyer of the activist Ferenc Gyurcsány talked about the fact that the public discourse is becoming more and more radical in this country, one of the reasons for this is the homophobic decision-making of the government, to which - just after the amendment to the Basic Law - Homonnay reacted in his post. He indicated that his client had expressed an opinion, and his apology was sufficient. The legal representative also referred to the fact that the minister is an influential government figure who shapes the cabinet's ideology; and his protégé's reaction reflects that this worldview should not be imposed on society. Finally, he asked the court to acquit the client of the charges.
In his defense speech, Homonnay said that the Hungarian government stigmatizes sexual minorities and stirs up contradictions, so his reaction is not unique.
He also called the minister without portfolio responsible for families a homophobe and then repeatedly a Nazi.
The court indicated in its reasoning that the "worm" comment was particularly dehumanizing, however, Homonnay's criminal conviction was taken into account, hence the probationary period. Although the DK activist did not consider himself guilty, he took note of the verdict, so the verdict is legally binding.
Source and featured image: mandiner.hu
