Gergely Homonnay

Born in Gyula, Hungary, he studied English and German at the Faculty of Arts in the University of Szeged,^[4] then studied law in Pécs and the Faculty of Law at the Eötvös Loránd University. He worked as a translator for a photo agency, then as a journalist and blogger for years. He took a strong and unvarnished stance on political and social issues, and his three books written to show the world and politics through the eyes of his cat, Erzsi - published between 2016 and 2018 - made him and his sharp opinion widely known among Hungarian readers. Gergely Homonnay often raised his voice for socially deprived groups and animal welfare, and - according to his and Erzsi cat's social media pages - ran numerous fundraising campaigns to support domestic and international NGOs as well as individuals in need.^[5] He turned up in public life as one of the organisers and speakers of the anti-government demonstration "Mi vagyunk a tobbseg! (We are the Majority!)" after the Hungarian elections in 2018,^[6] and has attracted many of both followers and political enemies since. He was condemned for libel, after calling president candidate Katalin Novák "dirty nazi scum".^[7][8]

At the time of his death he had already left Hungary, and been living in Rome for more than a year. According to Italian articles published the following days, he was found dead in a gay bar^[9][10] in Rome on New Year's Day in 2022. All that is known with certainty about the circumstances of his death so far that it is currently under investigation as a crime case.^[11]