A passenger accused of defamation in Hungary: She complained about airport employees

One of the Hungarian citizens is accused of defamation after she had a conflict with NTCA (National Tax and Customs Administration, NAV in Hungarian) employees last year. It is noted that the passenger spoke harshly to the airport staff during a request to check her documents.

Later, the woman filed a complaint against NTCA employees, but in response received a counter-accusation of defamation. According to 24.hu, the Hungarian law states that even a harsher verbal remark can be the basis for a defamation charge.

The heroine, pseudonymously known as Agnes, claimed unfair treatment after landing at the Liszt International Airport in Budapest. The incident occurred in the spring of 2023 when the woman was returning from Western Europe.

After disembarking from the plane, a bus took Agnes and her fellow travellers to the airport building, where, according to Agnes, customs officers asked everyone to show their documents, to which she objected. According to her, she was surrounded by six customs officers who did not behave very well.

"Yes, I asked why the customs officers were checking passports, and they responded by pulling me out of the line to search me. I was outraged because it was intimidation by the authorities. I travel abroad a lot, but I have never experienced such revenge for a critical remark, let alone a question, anywhere else," the heroine of the story told the publication.

It is noted that after returning home, Agnes filed a complaint on the official website of the tax service, where she described the entire dialogue in detail, including rude words towards customs officers and security guards.

"I won't deny it; I used very harsh language, but still almost the same language that is also used in the Hungarian parliament," she said.

According to the woman, she considered the behaviour of the official workers humiliating. At the same time, the 24.hu editorial office's request to the tax service was answered with a response that financial guards have the right to demand identification documents (such as ID cards, passports and driver's licenses) anywhere in the country for identification purposes as the law authorizes them to do so.

A few months after the incident, the woman was called to the airport police as a suspect. According to the tax service, the woman slandered airport employees by using derogatory words.

As it became known, the woman denied all charges and filed another complaint, but it was rejected. It is noted that the investigation into Agnes's case is not yet over. Experts note that the woman may be charged because she expressed degrading and humiliating assessments of the work of civil servants (customs and financial guards fall into this category). At the same time, she has another opinion: the overreaction of official authorities to the words of a tired passenger.

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