Hungarian Lawmakers Arrested as New Government Targets Former Officials in Political Purge
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Two former ministers were detained after their parliamentary immunity was revoked, marking a controversial move by Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s administration as it pursues an aggressive campaign against members of the previous government.
Hungary’s new government has launched what it claims is a major anti-corruption initiative, arresting two former ministers from the previous administration in a move critics say is more about political retribution than justice. On Monday, the parliamentary majority—now dominated by Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s allies—voted to strip immunity from Balazs Hanko, former culture and innovation minister, and Miklos Sesztak, ex-development minister and current Christian Democratic People’s Party lawmaker. Both men now face investigations into alleged misuse of public funds and bribery, charges that often surface during politically motivated crackdowns.
Hanko is accused of allocating about €50 million from the National Cultural Fund to projects that allegedly included election-campaign financing, while Sesztak is said to have received roughly €30 million in bribes related to state-owned transport and construction contracts between 2015 and 2018. After losing their immunity, Sesztak surrendered to prosecutors and was placed in pre-trial detention, while Hanko initially remained in the parliamentary building with his family before being forced to leave and subsequently detained.
Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who has himself faced accusations and even requested his own immunity be lifted in a separate theft case, used the arrests to attack the previous government, claiming that the sums involved dwarf any symbolic gestures. He also called for sweeping reforms in the prosecutor’s office and rejected a candidate for prosecutor general due to supposed conflicts of interest—a move some see as an attempt to consolidate control over the judiciary.
These arrests have been framed by Magyar’s supporters as a test of the new government’s commitment to the rule of law, but many Hungarians remain skeptical, viewing the campaign as a thinly veiled purge of political opponents. Legal experts have warned that the authorities must proceed carefully and respect judicial independence, lest the investigations become tools for settling political scores rather than upholding justice.