Hungary’s prosecutor general resigns amid political pressure

Hungary’s Prosecutor General Gábor Bálint Nagy has resigned amid political pressure from Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who is seeking to replace senior officials appointed during the tenure of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Nagy said he was stepping down to protect the integrity and independence of the prosecution service, which he said should not be used for political purposes, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

“The prosecution service must not become an instrument in the struggles of political actors, nor can it be a stage for day-to-day political interests or power games,” Nagy said, adding that he no longer wished to be part of a conflict “built on false premises and serving political ends.”

Magyar welcomed the resignation, saying: “With this, the country has freed itself from another Orbán puppet.”

The resignation comes after Magyar’s landslide election victory in April. Since taking office, he has called for the removal of senior officials appointed under Orbán. President Tamás Sulyok also signed a constitutional amendment over the weekend ending his own mandate.

Nagy had faced additional criticism from lawyers representing seven Ukrainian cash couriers detained in Hungary in a cross-border cash seizure case. In early March, two vans carrying large amounts of cash and gold bound for Oschadbank’s headquarters in Kyiv left Vienna before being stopped near Budapest. The crew were detained, questioned and expelled from Hungary, while the cash and gold were confiscated.

Hungary’s Prosecutor’s Office has denied that the operation was politically motivated. Nagy had led the office since last year.

By Sabina Mammadli