Hungary could suspend citizenship to silence dissent

David Koranyi is the president of Action for Democracy.

I never thought I’d see the day when Hungary — my country of birth — would threaten to suspend my citizenship for the act of defending democracy.

Yet, here we are.

Just last week, Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party adopted a bill that would allow the government to temporarily strip dual citizens — specifically those who are also nationals of non-EU or non-European Economic Area countries — of their Hungarian passports, should they be deemed to have acted “in the interest of foreign powers” and “undermined the sovereignty of Hungary.” 

The ambitions of this bill are clear as day. This is not about national security; it’s about silencing dissent. It’s about targeting civil society, journalists and activists — both within Hungary and the diaspora — who refuse to fall in line with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

I’ve already been the subject of many such attacks. My name and my organization, Action for Democracy, have been fixtures of the Hungarian government’s propaganda machine for years.

The government has commissioned illegal surveillance, covertly recording videos and taking photographs of me and my family in front of our apartment in New York. It has published unfounded allegations in pro-government newspapers. It has launched misogynistic attacks against my wife. And it has instructed the Hungarian intelligence agencies, as well as the Orwellian “Sovereignty Protection Authority” — a body modeled on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s repressive state machinery — to investigate my organization on the grounds of “national security.”

Now, it wants the legal power to erase people like me from the soul and body of the nation altogether.

We’ve seen this tactic before, in authoritarian states like Russia, China and Iran. But if this law is passed, Hungary would become the only EU member that could revoke citizenship based on vague, subjective allegations of disloyalty. It would send a chilling message to tens of thousands of naturalized citizens, dual nationals and diaspora Hungarians: Stay quiet, or lose your nationality.

This is not an isolated act. Rather, it’s part of a broader authoritarian playbook — one that treats democracy, civil society and free speech as threats to be neutralized. For example, just last week, the regime also amended the constitution — for the 15th time in just as many years — to severely limit citizens’ freedom to peacefully protest, escalating its campaign against LGBTQ+ communities by effectively banning Pride marches. Leveraging a deeply problematic “Child Protection Act,” the regime now has carte blanche to criminalize assemblies it deems inappropriate, and use invasive surveillance technologies like facial recognition in its enforcement.

This sets a chilling precedent, as the freedom of assembly — a cornerstone of democracy — can now be indefinitely suspended to silence political opposition.

It also follows a series of wider developments, which indicate a pattern of rejecting international standards — particularly with respect to human rights. For instance, during a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, Orbán declared his intention to pull Hungary out of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where it is a founding member.

The move was in apparent support of Netanyahu, who is subject to an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes. And while this development comes as no surprise, it provides significant evidence that Orbán is prepared to put political expediency over justice, and that his government considers international law optional when it conflicts with political alliances.

All this could spell trouble as we approach Hungary’s upcoming elections, which are slated for April 2026.

Despite having captured much of the state over the past 15 years, Orbán is currently trailing behind opponent Peter Magyar, who has mounted a campaign to “detoxify” Hungary’s political system and stamp out corruption. Formerly a part of the Fidesz family, Magyar’s justifiably harsh criticism of Orbán’s regime has unsurprisingly resulted in the sort of attacks and state-orchestrated smear campaigns I’ve been enduring for years. And more worryingly, there are now rumors that Orbán might try to jail him or block him from contesting the elections. 

Coming from an increasingly desperate and paranoid administration, all of this is about targeting citizens’ rights, international justice and democratic norms. And for European readers, I must warn: It isn’t exclusively a Hungarian problem. If a member country can strip its citizens of their rights, ban public expression and flout international obligations without consequence, the entire European project is at risk.

The bloc can no longer afford to continue its strategy of half-measures and warnings. Orbán has proven, time and again, that he responds only to pressure. He has also openly spoken about “destroying” the EU from the inside and, believe me, he’s serious in this ambition.

Thus, the European Commission should, without delay, launch infringement procedures into the new laws, as they clearly contradict the EU treaties. The bloc should also redirect , suspended funds, as best it can, to Hungarian municipalities, civil society organizations and independent media by updating the existing conditionality tool to allow for the reallocation of funds and ensure European taxpayer money doesn’t line the pockets of the authoritarian government. And last but not least, it’s high time the EU fundamentally reconsidered how it deals with governments that routinely undermine its values.

As a Hungarian, European and American citizen, I will not be intimidated — nor will my organization. We will continue to support civil society in Hungary and other battleground countries fighting for freedom and justice around the world. We will mobilize diaspora communities. We will fight disinformation, repression and fear because democracy is not just a system, it is a promise.