Hungary Seeks Suspended Prison Term For Pastor Once Close To Orbán

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungarian prosecutors have requested a two-year suspended prison sentence for Gábor Iványi, a 76-year-old Methodist pastor, once a close confidant of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and several opposition politicians, in a case widely viewed as politically charged.

Iványi, who officiated Orbán’s wedding and baptized two of his children decades ago, now faces charges of leading a group that allegedly used force against public officials during a 2022 tax authority raid on his church’s headquarters in Budapest.

FROM TRUSTED FRIEND TO TARGET

The Budapest Investigative Prosecutor’s Office confirmed Friday that Iványi and six others, including several opposition politicians, are accused of violence against an official committed in a group, a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison.

The prosecution has also charged Zita Gurmai, a Socialist Member of Parliament; Anna Donáth, former Momentum European legislator; Bernadett Szél and Károly Herényi, both former parliamentarians; and two other associates.

According to prosecutors, Iványi and his supporters tried to block an unannounced search by Hungary’s tax and customs authority (NAV) “at the Dankó Street offices of the Oltalom Charity Association” in Budapest, which Iványi leads.

The organization provides shelter, food, and education to thousands of poor and homeless people.

RAID ON CHARITY

During the February 2022 incident, NAV officers claimed that Iványi and others attempted to obstruct their work, while members of the crowd and journalists entered the building through windows and back doors.

Prosecutors allege that Iványi urged supporters to push him toward the officers to break through their cordon.

Authorities say the search was part of an ongoing investigation into alleged large-scale budgetary fraud at the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship (MET), a small denomination Iványi founded after Hungary’s communist era.

Iványi has strongly denied wrongdoing, saying the charges are retaliation for his criticism of Orbán’s right-wing government and his open support for refugees, the poor, and religious minorities.

A HISTORY OF PERSECUTION

This wasn’t the first time Iványi faced a crackdown by authorities. He was harassed under Hungary’s communist regime for his Christian faith and activism and was barred from preaching for years before the fall of communism in 1989.

He later became a symbol of the struggle for freedom of religion and public expression of faith in Christ while advocating for what he viewed as “social justice” in post-communist Hungary, founding shelters and schools that serve thousands.

However, his relationship with Orbán soured after he criticized what he called the prime minister’s “authoritarian turn” amid a crackdown on perceived opponents, including critical media, and his “abandonment of Christian values.”

Since then, his church has lost official recognition and state funding, and several of its social projects have struggled to survive.

PROTEST PLANNED IN BUDAPEST

Amid mounting outrage over the charges, supporters have called for a torchlight protest in Budapest on Tuesday, November 11, outside Iványi’s Oltalom Charity headquarters on Dankó Street, Worthy News learned.

The rally, organized by the Foundation for the Politically Persecuted, will feature several public figures, including Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, under the slogan “Say No to Intimidation.”

The case comes as the European Union continues to voice concerns over what it describes as the erosion of the rule of law and democratic standards in Hungary, including restrictions on press freedom, judicial independence, and non-governmental organizations.

Brussels has frozen billions of euros (dollars) in EU funds to Budapest over alleged violations of democratic norms and the government’s handling of civil society. Rights groups have repeatedly warned that churches and NGOs critical of the government, such as Iványi’s network, face financial pressure, legal harassment, and political intimidation.

PROSECUTORS SEEK LENIENCY

Although the charges carry sentences of up to ten years, the Central Chief Prosecutor’s Office acknowledged that the defendants could receive lighter penalties. “All seven defendants could achieve the goals of punishment without imprisonment,” said spokeswoman Katalin Kovács, confirming that prosecutors have requested suspended sentences for each.

For Iványi, that means a two-year suspended prison term; for the politicians, the proposed terms range from one to two years.

Iványi told reporters that the indictment was expected before Hungary’s next elections, calling it “an own goal by those in power.”

Orbán now faces his toughest political challenge since returning to power in 2010, with opposition leader Péter Magyar and his emerging conservative TISZA Party leading in several opinion polls ahead of the April parliamentary vote.

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