Hungarian Pastor Defies Prison Threat As Orbán Defends US Deals In Rare TV Interview

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief reporting from Budapest, Hungary

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – A Hungarian Methodist pastor who faces prison on what he views as trumped-up charges and a government crackdown on dissent told thousands of supporters in Budapest that he would remain faithful to his Christian mission.

“My inner freedom cannot be taken away or imprisoned,” said Pastor Gábor Iványi, once a close confidant of longtime Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who appeared almost simultaneously with the protest in a rare interview on an independent television channel.

Despite golden autumn weather, up to 10,000 people attended the rally organized by the Foundation for the Politically Persecuted.

The demonstration lasted a little over an hour and remained peaceful despite a large police presence. The crowd gradually dispersed as the evening turned cold.

ORBÁN GIVES FIRST TV INTERVIEW IN 15 YEARS

The rally began moments after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave his first interview in 15 years to the Pentecostal Faith Church-run, left-leaning channel ATV, where he dismissed calls to debate his main political challenger, Péter Magyar.

He also defended a financial and energy agreement with the United States flowing his talks with U.S. President Dinald J. Trump at the White House last week.

Orbán told ATV that as long as Trump remains in office and he continues as Hungary’s prime minister, Budapest will enjoy a “financial shield” exemption from U.S. sanctions for importing oil and natural gas from Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

He called the arrangement vital to maintaining Hungary’s low utility prices ahead of elections expected in April.

PASTOR RECALLS HUMANITARIAN WORK IN UKRAINE

Orbán’s remarks did little to impress protesters. The last speaker on stage, 76-year-old Pastor Gábor Iványi, said that two and a half minibuses of donations had recently been delivered to the site of the Bucha massacre in war-torn Ukraine.

He expressed hope to dine with Commander Robert Brovdi, a Ukrainian of Hungarian origin, to assure him that “the more prudent half of Hungary did not want to ban him from the country.”

Iványi said that while he is focused on Christian aid, the prosecutor’s office had filed charges against him and six associates — among them Zita Gurmai, a Socialist Party lawmaker; Anna Donáth, former Momentum Movement European legislator; Bernadett Szél and Károly Herényi, both former parliamentarians; and two other staff members of his charity — over a 2022 tax-authority raid on his church’s headquarters.

He said he received the official notification only this week, nearly a week after the prosecution’s press conference.

“MY INNER FREEDOM CANNOT BE TAKEN AWAY”

Iványi maintains that the removal of his church’s legal status was unconstitutional and politically motivated. He accused the government of illegally dismantling MET’s schools, forcing them to hand over nursing homes, and now attempting to close homeless shelters by mid-November.

“It shows a lack of human understanding that it did not occur to them that my principles are independent of the ruling government,” he said. “My inner freedom cannot be taken away or imprisoned.”

For Iványi, the widespread sympathy and protests sparked by the indictment show that many Hungarians understand that “in a democratic country, the government does not draw a crosshair on the foreheads of its political opponents but stands up for its principles in open debate.”

He expressed solidarity with his fellow defendants, saying he regretted they were being targeted because of him but was proud of their courage. The founding pastor of MET thanked all who demonstrated in Budapest and across the country for standing with him and his co-defendants, adding that they could continue their humanitarian work through ongoing civil donations.

MAYOR BACKS IVÁNYI, QUOTES SAINT AUGUSTINE

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony also addressed the gathering, quoting Saint Augustine: “Without justice, states are nothing more than big gangs of robbers.” He said those standing with Iványi were defending truth against arbitrary power.

Karácsony argued that Iványi and others were being accused of violence “while the real violence is perpetrated by the authorities against the community that wants to freely practice its faith and against the most vulnerable citizens.”

He said defending Iványi was part of restoring “a state that protects public interests rather than private ones — a state that reconciles instead of dividing the nation.”

The mayor concluded that authorities were persecuting Iványi because “they know that if many people are able to follow his example of justice, humanity, and selflessness, then the lies of the selfish, stifling system will fall in heaps.

PEACEFUL PROTEST AND DEEPENING DIVIDE

Far from the stage, crowds filled Dankó Street, some listening to the speeches on their phones through a live YouTube broadcast. Despite the tension surrounding the case, the atmosphere remained calm.

Observers say the rally — alongside Orbán’s first appearance on ATV in over a decade — illustrates Hungary’s deepening political divide: a government consolidating power and international deals on one side, and a pastor once close to the prime minister now symbolizing resistance to state control on the other.

Hungary remains under pressure from the European Union, which has withheld more than 20 billion euros (about 21.6 billion U.S. dollars) in funds over concerns about corruption, judicial independence, and restrictions on civil society.

Brussels says full access to the money will depend on verifiable reforms. Orbán’s government insists the criticism is politically motivated and that Hungary is being punished for its conservative stance and resistance to deeper EU integration.

For Iványi’s supporters, that standoff mirrors the pastor’s own struggle — a battle over conscience, faith, and freedom in a nation increasingly split between loyalty to power and loyalty to principle.

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