Rev. Donáth and daughter accused of sexual harassment

Pro-government outlets accuse Lutheran pastor László Donáth, a former MSZP MP and father of Momentum MEP Anna Donáth of sexually harassing employees at his Church’s nursing home, while a liberal weekly accuses the government-run media of launching a smear campaign to harm its opponents.

The liberal news site 24.hu believes that the complaint for sexual harassment came from a cleaning woman.  Meanwhile, police have confirmed that a criminal investigation is underway for sexual harassment.

Magyar Nemzet reports a comment by journalist Gergely Huth on HírTV in which the pro-government commentator asks why the Hungarian #metoo movement is silent about the case. And why the left-liberal press is silent, after having incessantly blamed the Catholic Church for the offences of paedophile priests?’ he added.

Ripost writes that the harassment charges have been corroborated by further witnesses among the employees of the nursing home. The pro-government website also quotes an unnamed student as saying that while she performed her compulsory community service at the nursing home, Donáth’s daughter, who has since been elected to the European Parliament, made her ‘a harassing offer’. Ripost also alleges that the female lawyer of the nursing home had an extramarital affair with Mr Donáth and gave birth to his son.

In its weekly editorial, Magyar Narancs calls the matter the ‘most abject trick in the extremely dirty history’ of the pro-government press. The editors find it telling that the alleged witnesses are all nameless and believe that the accusations are an attempt to smear Anna Donáth, who is seen by the government side as a dangerous and effective adversary. The campaign against the Donáths has been timed by the government side to coincide with the campaign for the local elections in October, Magyar Narancs remarks.

Tags: harassment, Momentum