Suspected of stealing cell phone, Magyar loses parliamentary immunity

O prime Minister of Hungary, Péter Magyar, lost his parliamentary immunity on Monday and may be the subject of an investigation into suspected theft of a cell phone in connection with an incident in 2024.

Second local press, the Hungarian parliament decided to waive Magyar's parliamentary immunity with 139 votes in favour, without abstentions or votes against, after the Prime Minister had asked his fellow members to vote in favour for the view that he did not commit any crime. 

There is an alleged robbery in connection with an incident that occurred early in June 2024. At the time, two weeks after the European elections, Magyar was involved in an argument with a man who was filming him at a nightlife establishment in Budapest. During the discussion, the Hungarian Prime Minister grabbed the man's cell phone and threw it into the Danube River. 

In September of that year, the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Hungary asked the European Parliament to waive the parliamentary immunity of Tisza's politician. However, the European Parliament has not authorised and the case has been closed. 

However, after Magyar passed on to the Hungarian Parliament in May, the investigation was resumed and the D.A. has now requested the Hungarian Parliament to waive parliamentary immunity.

In addition to Magyar, the interim Attorney General of Hungary also requested last week the parliamentary lifting of Balazs Hanko and Miklos Sesztak, two former governor of Viktor Orbán for judicial investigations.

Balazs Hanko, of the Fidesz party – led by Orbán – and former Minister of Culture and Innovation, is investigated for an alleged deviation of EUR 47 million from public funds, part of which will have been used to finance the election campaign of 2026.

In July, investigators seized material and documentation from party officials in an operation that Orbán denounced as an attempt to politically harm Fidesz.

Miklos Sesztak is a member of the Christian-Democratic People's Party (KDNP), allied with Fidesz, and a former Minister of National Development. 

Sesztak is suspected to have received millions of euros in bribes as part of the acquisition of bus used at allegedly overvalued prices between 2014 and 2018.