Reuters
Tue, March 26, 2024
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Budapest near parliament on Tuesday demanding the chief prosecutor and Prime Minister Viktor Orban resign after a former government insider accused a senior aide to Orban of trying interfere in a graft case.
Protesters marched from the chief prosecutor's office towards parliament shouting "Resign, resign", with many carrying torches.
Peter Magyar earlier published a recording of a conversation with Judit Varga, then his wife and Hungary's justice minister, in which she detailed an attempt by aides to Orban's cabinet chief to remove certain parts from documents in a graft case.
The case is centred on former justice ministry state secretary Pal Volner, who was charged in 2022 with accepting bribes from the former head of the Court Bailiffs, Gyorgy Schadl. Both have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking jail terms for the pair.
Prosecutors said in a statement they would analyse the tape, which Magyar said he recorded in January 2023, and further evidence would be collected.
"It is legally and physically impossible to eliminate and meddle into prosecution documents," the statement said.
Prosecutors were scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday.
The allegations come at a politically sensitive time for Orban ahead of European parliamentary elections in June, and follow a sex abuse scandal that brought down two of Orban's political allies - the former president and the former justice minister Judit Varga - last month.
Magyar, 43, a lawyer formerly close to the government, plans to launch a new party to challenge Orban.
"Hungarians thank you ... for coming in the thousands tonight ... to tell those in power that we have had enough," he told protesters in a speech.
On the audio tape, recorded in the then couple's home, and published on Magyar's Facebook page, Varga says aides linked to cabinet chief minister Antal Rogan suggested to prosecutors what should be deleted from documents related to the Volner/Schadl case.
"They told the prosecutors what should be deleted but they (prosecutors) did not entirely follow up on that," Varga is heard on the tape as saying.
Former justice minister Varga, who could not be reached for comment, did not dispute the authenticity of the tape in a post on her Facebook page.
"Peter Magyar made a secret recording of his former spouse, me, in our home and now used this to achieve his political goals. He is not worthy of anybody's trust," she wrote.
Government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs declined to reply to emailed questions from Reuters about the content of the recording, commenting: "Much ado about nothing."
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Jon Boyle, Angus MacSwan and Daniel Wallis)
Former Hungarian insider releases audio he says is proof of corruption in embattled Orbán government
JUSTIN SPIKE
Updated Tue, March 26, 2024
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A former Hungarian government insider turned critic released an audio recording on Tuesday that he says proves that top officials conspired to cover up corruption, the latest development in a scandal that has shaken Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's domination of the country's politics.
The country's largest protests in years erupted in early February when it was revealed that the president had issued a pardon to a man imprisoned for covering up child sexual abuses by the director of a state-run orphanage.
Close Orbán allies, including the president and Justice Minister Judit Varga, were forced to resign in the face of public outrage.
The latest allegations come from Varga's ex-husband, Peter Magyar, a former political insider who says he has turned whistleblower to reveal the extent of impropriety within Orbán's government.
He posted a recording on Facebook and YouTube on Tuesday featuring what appeared to be Varga's voice describing how other government officials caused evidence to be removed from court records to cover up their roles in corrupt business dealings.
“They suggested to the prosecutors what should be removed," Varga says in the recording, which Magyar says he made during a conversation in the former couple’s apartment. Varga also says that one of her state secretaries was tipped off by senior officials that he was the subject of a corruption investigation.
Magyar gave the recording to the Metropolitan Public Prosecutor's Office in Budapest on Tuesday to be used as evidence.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Varga accused Magyar of domestic violence during their marriage and claimed she had made the statements under duress, but didn't deny that it was her in the recording.
“I said what he wanted to hear so I could get away as soon as possible. In a situation like this, any person can say things they don’t mean in a state of intimidation,” Varga wrote. Magyar later denied those claims in a separate post on Facebook.
Once a senior but little-known member of Orbán’s political circle, Magyar shot to prominence when he gave an interview in February to popular YouTube channel Partizan in which he accused Orbán's government of widespread corruption and of using smear campaigns to discredit its opponents.
On March 15, he addressed a crowd of tens of thousands in Budapest and announced plans to form a new political party to challenge the governing party's 14-year grip on power as an alternative to Hungary’s fragmented opposition.
The scandal caused an unprecedented political crisis within Orbán’s government, which has led Hungary since 2010. Magyar’s followers hope his position as a former insider can help to disrupt Hungary’s political system, which many see as a deeply entrenched autocracy.
In his recent public appearances, Magyar has particularly targeted Antal Rogan, a close Orbán ally who is responsible for the government’s communications as well as the country’s secret services. The recording released Tuesday purports to show that Rogan led the effort to alter evidence.
The government has dismissed Magyar as an opportunist seeking to forge a new career after his divorce with Varga and his loss of positions in several state companies. But his rise has compounded political headaches for Orbán that have included the resignation of members of his government and a painful economic crisis.
After spending nearly four hours inside the prosecutor's office on Tuesday, Magyar told journalists that the alleged evidence tampering was cause for Orbán's government to step down, and called for a spontaneous protest later in the day.
On Tuesday evening, thousands of demonstrators gathered at Magyar's urging at the Public Prosecutor's Office in Budapest where he demanded the resignation of the attorney general, whom he accused of acting in the interests of Orbán's governing party.
“Let us send a message from here, together, that we will not let them cover up the biggest legal and political scandal of the last 30 years! We will not allow it!” he said, adding that he demanded that the alleged misconduct “be investigated independently, objectively and free from political interference.”
One demonstrator, Katalin Varga, said that she identifies with Magyar's political message that corruption in Hungary has led to a disintegration of the country's political, cultural and social life.
“Finally, there is a force, a character who represents what for me is the problem with the current situation: the political system, the abuses, and the fact that we are slowly cooking like frogs and not realizing that we are going to be the soup,” she said.
Hungarian whistleblower releases audio suggesting corruption in embattled Orbán government
The country's largest protests in years erupted in early February when it was revealed that the president had issued a pardon to a man imprisoned for covering up child sexual abuses by the director of a state-run orphanage.
Close Orbán allies, including the president and Justice Minister Judit Varga, were forced to resign in the face of public outrage.
The latest allegations come from Varga's ex-husband, Peter Magyar, a former political insider who says he has turned whistleblower to reveal the extent of impropriety within Orbán's government.
He posted a recording on Facebook and YouTube on Tuesday featuring what appeared to be Varga's voice describing how other government officials caused evidence to be removed from court records to cover up their roles in corrupt business dealings.
“They suggested to the prosecutors what should be removed," Varga says in the recording, which Magyar says he made during a conversation in the former couple’s apartment. Varga also says that one of her state secretaries was tipped off by senior officials that he was the subject of a corruption investigation.
Magyar gave the recording to the Metropolitan Public Prosecutor's Office in Budapest on Tuesday to be used as evidence.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Varga accused Magyar of domestic violence during their marriage and claimed she had made the statements under duress, but didn't deny that it was her in the recording.
“I said what he wanted to hear so I could get away as soon as possible. In a situation like this, any person can say things they don’t mean in a state of intimidation,” Varga wrote. Magyar later denied those claims in a separate post on Facebook.
Once a senior but little-known member of Orbán’s political circle, Magyar shot to prominence when he gave an interview in February to popular YouTube channel Partizan in which he accused Orbán's government of widespread corruption and of using smear campaigns to discredit its opponents.
On March 15, he addressed a crowd of tens of thousands in Budapest and announced plans to form a new political party to challenge the governing party's 14-year grip on power as an alternative to Hungary’s fragmented opposition.
The scandal caused an unprecedented political crisis within Orbán’s government, which has led Hungary since 2010. Magyar’s followers hope his position as a former insider can help to disrupt Hungary’s political system, which many see as a deeply entrenched autocracy.
In his recent public appearances, Magyar has particularly targeted Antal Rogan, a close Orbán ally who is responsible for the government’s communications as well as the country’s secret services. The recording released Tuesday purports to show that Rogan led the effort to alter evidence.
The government has dismissed Magyar as an opportunist seeking to forge a new career after his divorce with Varga and his loss of positions in several state companies. But his rise has compounded political headaches for Orbán that have included the resignation of members of his government and a painful economic crisis.
After spending nearly four hours inside the prosecutor's office on Tuesday, Magyar told journalists that the alleged evidence tampering was cause for Orbán's government to step down, and called for a spontaneous protest later in the day.
On Tuesday evening, thousands of demonstrators gathered at Magyar's urging at the Public Prosecutor's Office in Budapest where he demanded the resignation of the attorney general, whom he accused of acting in the interests of Orbán's governing party.
“Let us send a message from here, together, that we will not let them cover up the biggest legal and political scandal of the last 30 years! We will not allow it!” he said, adding that he demanded that the alleged misconduct “be investigated independently, objectively and free from political interference.”
One demonstrator, Katalin Varga, said that she identifies with Magyar's political message that corruption in Hungary has led to a disintegration of the country's political, cultural and social life.
“Finally, there is a force, a character who represents what for me is the problem with the current situation: the political system, the abuses, and the fact that we are slowly cooking like frogs and not realizing that we are going to be the soup,” she said.
Hungarian whistleblower releases audio suggesting corruption in embattled Orbán government
Euronews
Tue, March 26, 2024
Hungarian whistleblower releases audio suggesting corruption in embattled Orbán government
A former Hungarian government insider turned whistleblowed has released an audio recording that he says proves that top officials conspired to cover up corruption – the latest twist in a scandal that's shaken authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's political dominance.
The country's largest protests in years erupted in early February after it was revealed that the president had issued a pardon to a man imprisoned for covering up incidents of child sexual abuse perpetrated by the director of a state-run orphanage.
Close Orbán allies, including the president and Justice Minister Judit Varga, were forced to resign in the face of public outrage.
The latest allegations come from Varga's ex-husband, Peter Magyar, a former political insider who says he has turned whistleblower to reveal the extent of the scandal.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gives a speech on the steps of the National Museum in Budapest. - Denes Erdos/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
On Tuesday morning, Magyar published a recording on Facebook and YouTube in which Varga can be heard describing how other government officials caused evidence to be removed from court records to cover up their roles in corrupt business dealings.
"They suggested to the prosecutors what should be removed," Varga says in the recording, which Magyar says he made during a conversation in the former couple's apartment.
He has given the tape to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Budapest to be used as evidence.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Varga confirmed the voice on the recording is hers, but accused Magyar of violence toward her during their marriage and claimed she had made the statements under duress.
"I said what he wanted to hear so I could get away as soon as possible," she wrote. "In a situation like this, any person can say things they don't mean in a state of intimidation."
Magyar subsequently denied her claims in a Facebook post of his own.
Switching sides
Once a senior but little-known member of Orbán's political circle, Magyar shot to prominence when he gave an interview in February to popular YouTube channel Partizan, where he accused Orbán's government of widespread corruption and using smear campaigns to discredit its opponents.
On March 15, he addressed a crowd of tens of thousands in Budapest, where he announced plans to form a new political party to challenge Fidesz's 14-year grip on power as an alternative to Hungary's fragmented opposition.
Péter Magyar, the former husband of one-time justice minister and Orbán ally Judit Varga holds a smoke-candle after his speech on Hungary's National Day in Budapest. - Denes Erdos/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
The scandal caused an unprecedented political crisis within Orbán's government, which has led Hungary since 2010. Magyar's followers hope his position as a former insider can help to disrupt Hungary's political system, which many see as a deeply entrenched autocracy.
The government has dismissed him as an opportunist seeking to forge a new career after his divorce from Varga and his loss of positions in several state companies. Nonetheless, Magyar's rise has seriously exacerbated what were already major political headaches.
Magyar has railed against official corruption, accusing Orbán of overseeing a nepotistic system of oligarchs that enrich themselves through unfairly awarded government contracts.
He has particularly targeted Antal Rogan, a close Orbán ally who is responsible for the government's communications as well as the country's secret services. The recording released Tuesday purports to show that Rogan led the effort to alter evidence.
Hungary Corruption
Former Hungarian government insider Peter Magyar leaves the Public Prosecutor's office in Budapest, Hungary, on Tuesday March 26, 2024. Magyar on Tuesday released a recording that he claims proves senior officials in the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán manipulated court documents to cover up their involvement in a corruption case. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
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