Hungary's chief prosecutor has requested the European Parliament's president to suspend the parliamentary immunity of Prime Minister Orban's key political opponent, MEP Peter Magyar, according to the prosecutor's office on Thursday.
Chief prosecutor Peter Polt, a staunch supporter of Orban and a former member of the ruling Fidesz party, stated in a release that Magyar allegedly took the cellphone of a man who had recorded him in a bar on June 21. The statement detailed that 'the MEP then proceeded to the riverbank and dropped the device into the Danube. This action could be construed as theft,' it read. The phone was later retrieved and returned to its owner.
Magyar and the office of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola did not promptly respond to inquiries from Reuters. Magyar, who emerged on the political stage in February, heads a center-right party currently supported by 39% of likely voters, compared to 43% for Orban's Fidesz, as per a survey by pollster Median in early September.
The 43-year-old lawyer, previously aligned with the government, gained prominence by accusing Orban's administration of corruption and sparking large-scale protests against the premier, who has been in office since 2010. The next election is scheduled for early 2026.
Magyar's Tisza party secured nearly 30% of the votes and seven seats in June's European Parliament elections, trailing only right-wing nationalist Fidesz. Tisza's MEPs, including Magyar, subsequently aligned with the European People's Party's group.
