Hoax: Human Rights Minister Claims Not Paying Taxes Violates Human Rights

A Facebook post has falsely claimed that Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai said citizens who do not pay taxes are violating human rights. The post included a narrative stating that the minister declared it a civic duty to work hard and pay taxes, and that failing to do so could be seen as impacting the fulfilment of public rights, sparking public debate. However, a search for official statements found no such declaration from Minister Pigai or the Ministry of Human Rights. The photograph used in the post was taken from a Metro TV news report in which Pigai stated that corruptors could be categorised as human rights violators because their actions harm the state and cause public suffering. He made no mention of tax non-compliance being a human rights violation. The claim is therefore categorised as a hoax.