Hungary lifts immunity of Prime Minister Magyar, two Orban-era ministers

What the report says

Hungary’s parliament has voted to remove legal immunity from Prime Minister Peter Magyar and two former ministers from Viktor Orban’s previous government, opening the door for prosecutors to pursue separate criminal investigations. The decision, reported by Al Jazeera on Monday, affects Magyar as well as Balazs Hanko, a former culture minister, and Miklos Sesztak, a former national development minister.

According to the report, Magyar asked for his immunity to be lifted as he sought to answer allegations tied to a June 2024 incident in Budapest, where prosecutors say he took a phone from a man filming him at a nightclub and threw it into the Danube. Magyar has denied wrongdoing and described the case as politically motivated. Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the requests, while Orban’s Fidesz party and its KDNP ally did not take part in the session.

The two former ministers are facing corruption-related investigations. Prosecutors suspect Hanko of embezzlement involving more than 40 million euros in public money, and Sesztak of taking more than $37.2 million in alleged bribes and kickbacks linked to bus procurement and construction projects. Both deny the accusations.

The cases are significant because they are the first corruption probes targeting senior figures from Orban’s 16 years in power. They also come after Magyar’s Tisza party won power earlier in 2026 on an anti-corruption platform, making the investigations politically important as the new government seeks to emphasize rule-of-law reforms and public accountability.