Hungary's prime minister stripped of immunity

Hungary's parliament has stripped Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who is accused of stealing a mobile phone, of his immunity.

By a majority of votes, the deputies granted the prosecutor's office's request to lift immunity from prosecution for the head of government, against whom a criminal case will now be opened.

"A total of 139 people voted in support of this decision. There were no votes against and no abstentions," parliament speaker Agnes Forsthoffer said at an extraordinary session that was broadcast by the M1 television channel. The prosecutor's office's request was approved by deputies from the ruling Tisza party and the ultraconservative Our Homeland party. The factions of the opposition FIDESZ - Hungarian Civic Union party and the Christian Democrats did not attend the session in protest against the fact that it also considered the question of lifting the immunity of two of their deputies - former ministers in Viktor Orban's government.

Magyar not only holds the post of prime minister but is also a member of parliament, where the Tisza party he leads holds more than two-thirds of the seats. He himself asked for his parliamentary immunity to be lifted, saying that he is ready to cooperate with the investigation and has nothing to fear. In June 2024, Magyar took a mobile phone away from a person who was filming him in a night club and threw the phone into the Danube. The prime minister claims that the previous authorities were trying to stage a provocation against him.

Source: TASS