The reason for the mass protests was the publication of an audio recording with evidence of corruption in the government of the country.
Thousands of residents of the Hungarian capital Budapest took part in a protest during which they demanded the resignation of the head of government Victor Orbán and the country's chief prosecutor.
Radio Liberty reports this.
The demonstration was led by Peter Magyar, a former member of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, who worked in various government agencies and banks.
43-year-old Magyar wrote on Facebook before the demonstration that the new political community aims to give Hungarians the chance to “join the joint work of building a new sovereign, modern, European Hungary.”
Protesters marched to parliament on April 6, some of them shouting: “We are not afraid” and “Orbán resign.”
The case of corruption in the Orbán cabinet – what is known
43-year-old lawyer Peter Magyar, a former adviser to Orbán planning to form a new party to challenge the prime minister, on March 26 published a recording of a conversation with Judit Varga, his wife and Hungary's minister of justice. In the audio recording, she details a possible attempt by Orbán's cabinet aides to change documents in the Orbán government's bribery case.
Chief Prosecutor Pal Fürcht said in a briefing that prosecutors have preserved and assessed Magyar's audio recording presented as part of his testimony, and an investigation into a possible “failure to report bribery” is ongoing.
At the center of this case is the former Secretary of State of the Ministry of Justice Pal Volner, who was charged in 2022 with accepting a bribe from the former head of the bailiff service, Derdy Shadla. Both have pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors are seeking prison sentences for both.
The current investigation began at a rather unfavorable moment for Orban on the eve of the European Parliament elections. In addition, the stability of his cabinet has been shaken by a sexual assault scandal that recently forced two of his key political allies, a former president and a former justice minister, from office.
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