BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – A former Hungarian government official turned commentator released audio recordings Tuesday that prove high-ranking government officials conspired to cover up corruption and blame Orbán. It claims to be the latest development in a scandal that threatens to undermine the prime minister's grip on the country. Politics.
The country's biggest protests in years erupted in early February after the president granted pardon to a man jailed for covering up child sexual abuse by the director of a state-run orphanage. has become clear.
Orbán's close allies, including the president and Justice Minister Judith Varga, forced to resign In the face of public anger.
The latest allegations come from Varga's ex-husband, former political insider Peter Magyar, who claims he became a whistleblower to expose the extent of corruption within Orbán's government.
On Tuesday, he posted audio recordings believed to be of Varga on Facebook and YouTube, showing how other government officials were using evidence to cover up their roles in the corrupt deal. I explained why I had it removed from my records.
“They suggested to the prosecutor what should be deleted,” Varga said in the recording, which Magyar said during a conversation in the ex-couple's apartment. Varga also said that one of the secretaries of state was tipped off by a senior official that he was the subject of a corruption investigation.
Magyar submitted the recording to Budapest's Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday for use as evidence.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Varga accused Magyar of domestic violence during their marriage and claimed she spoke out under duress, but denied that she was the one in the recording. I didn't deny it.
“I said what he wanted to hear in order to leave as soon as possible. Anyone in a situation like this can be under duress and end up saying things they don't mean,” Varga wrote. Magyar later denied these claims in another Facebook post.
Magyar was once a high-ranking member of Orban's political circle, but in a little-known interview in February on the popular YouTube channel Partizan, he spoke out about widespread corruption in the Orban government and its efforts to discredit the opposition. He suddenly came into the spotlight after accusing him of conducting a smear campaign.
On March 15th, he addressed a crowd of tens of thousands of people Speaking in Budapest, he announced plans to form a new party to replace Hungary's fractured opposition and challenge the ruling party's 14-year grip on power.
The scandal sparked an unprecedented political crisis within Orbán's government, which has led Hungary since 2010. Magyar's supporters hope his position as a former insider will help bring down Hungary's political system, which many see as a deeply entrenched dictatorship.
In recent public appearances, Mr. Magyar has particularly targeted Mr. Orbán's close ally Antal Rogan, head of government communications and the country's secret services. The recordings released Tuesday purportedly show Logan led the charge in tampering with evidence.
The government dismissed Mr. Magyar as an opportunist who was trying to build a new career after he divorced Mr. Varga and lost his jobs at several state-owned companies. But Mr. Orban's rise has compounded his political headaches, including resignations from government officials and a painful economic crisis.
After spending nearly four hours inside the prosecutor's office on Tuesday, Magyar told reporters that allegations of evidence tampering were the reason for Orbán's resignation, and called for spontaneous protests later in the day.
On Tuesday night, thousands of demonstrators gathered at Budapest's public prosecutor's office to heed Magyar's call and demand the resignation of the attorney general, whom they accused of acting in the interests of Orbán's ruling party.
“Let us join together from here to send a message that we will not let the biggest legal and political scandal of the last 30 years be swept under the rug! We will not tolerate it!” He added that he demanded that the matter be investigated objectively and without political interference.
Katalin Varga, one of the demonstrators, said she sympathized with the Magyars' political message that corruption in Hungary was leading to the collapse of politics, culture and social life.
“Finally, there is a force, a character, that symbolizes to me what is wrong with the current situation: the political system, the abuse, and how we are slowly cooking like frogs and how we end up in the world. “It's the fact that you don't realize you're going to be on top. Soup,” she said.
