Hungarian Methodist pastor Gábor Iványi told a Budapest court he would rather “accept a prison sentence than admit guilt” in what he considers a politically motivated case ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections.
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.
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.
Hungary’s main opposition parties have condemned a raid by armed tax authorities of an evangelical church and its charities for the homeless and other vulnerable people.
Hungarian churches and charities have begun distributing support to thousands of impoverished children, including those who lost parents amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.
The European Court of Human Rights recently ruled that a Hungarian law had violated the rights of churches and other religious groups by stripping them of their state registrations, according to Barnabas Aid.
The Hungarian government has been criticized for changes to the country’s constitution that threaten religious freedoms and other rights.