Hungary’s Opposition Leader Files Charges Against Premier In Spy Row

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s prominent opposition leader says he will press charges against the prime minister for suggesting that he collaborates with Ukraine against Hungarian interests.

Péter Magyar made the announcement on Tuesday while protesters marched in Budapest against the perceived autocratic policies of Viktor Orbán, who has ruled Hungary uninterrupted since 2010.

Magyar, whose Tisza party leads in opinion polls, expressed outrage over a video Prime Minister Orbán posted on social media.

In the video, Orbán suggested that Ukraine, “with the help of a Hungarian opposition party,” conducted an operation against Hungary.

The video included images of Magyar and Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, a former chief of staff who was dismissed in 2023 and joined the opposition’s Tisza party as an advisor to Magyar.

Magyar called Orbán’s claims “baseless and politically motivated.” In statements seen by Worthy News, Magyar said he will file “a criminal complaint” on Wednesday, accusing Orbán of “spreading false information and concealing a crime against the state.”

“If even a single word of the nonsense the Prime Minister spouted today were true, he shouldn’t have made a Facebook [platform] video. He should have gone straight to the police,” Magyar wrote on social media.

DEFENSE COUNCIL

Orbán published the video after hastily convening the Hungarian Defense Council Tuesday afternoon in response to recent developments in war-torn Ukraine.

In his post-meeting video, Orbán claimed Ukraine launched a “coordinated smear campaign against Hungary to prevent us from holding a national consultation on Ukraine’s [European Union] EU membership.”

Earlier, the ruling Fidesz party’s parliamentary leader, Máté Kocsis, alleged that Tisza was working with Ukraine’s intelligence services.

The Council meeting was apparently triggered by last Friday’s announcement from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) that it uncovered a “Hungarian military espionage network” operating in western Ukraine.

Two individuals were reportedly detained on charges of collecting information for a possible Hungarian invasion into Ukrainian territory that once belonged to Hungary.

In response, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced the expulsion of two Ukrainian diplomats from Hungary on suspicion of espionage.

Magyar has suggested that the standoff is part of Orbán’s perceived “pro-Russia” agenda in Europe.

OPPOSITION MARCH

He also said an opposition march will begin on Wednesday from Budapest to the Romanian city of Oradea, also known as Nagyvárad, as Orbán supports the Romanian nationalist, pro-Russian presidential candidate there ahead of Sunday’s elections in Romania.

Additionally, it was leaked on Tuesday that European Union member states are secretly exploring ways to advance Ukraine’s EU membership without involving the “pro-Russian Orbán.”

Sources familiar with the talks say officials are concerned that Orban’s “national consultation” will undermine Ukraine’s EU membership prospects despite Hungary’s prior approval to open the accession talks in 2023.

Hungary only lifted its veto that December after Brussels unlocked 10 billion euros ($10.1 billion) in EU funds, blocked due to corruption and rule of law concerns.

Yet the Hungarian government is conducting a billboard campaign against Ukraine’s accession to the EU, urging people to participate in its “national consultation” on the issue.

The posters feature images of leaders of the EU’s executive European Commission, the European People’s Party, and the Ukrainian president, with the message: “Don’t let them decide our future.”

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