In a significant move, Hungary’s Parliament has voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of Prime Minister Péter Magyar, paving the way for prosecutors to investigate him regarding an alleged theft incident in Budapest in 2024. The decision was made with an overwhelming approval of 139 votes and no opposition or abstentions.
The investigation centers around an event at a Budapest nightclub in June 2024, where Magyar allegedly took a man’s phone after a confrontation and subsequently disposed of it by throwing it into the Danube River. The phone was later recovered, and Magyar has denied any wrongdoing, suggesting that the allegations are politically motivated. Notably, Magyar himself requested the lifting of his immunity, expressing readiness to face the investigation.
Alongside Magyar, the immunity of two former ministers, Balázs Hankó and Miklós Seszták, was also revoked. Hankó, a former Culture and Innovation Minister, and Seszták, a former National Development Minister, are being scrutinized in separate investigations concerning alleged corruption. Following the parliamentary vote, Seszták was detained by prosecutors, though he maintains his innocence.
This parliamentary decision allows the investigations to proceed without the legal protection that parliamentary immunity typically provides to lawmakers. Although the investigations are ongoing, no final convictions have been reached in any of the cases.