The mafia charges of billions of forints have melted

In most cases because of the absence of crime police have terminated the criminal procedures initiated after the change of administration in 2010. stipulations of international treaties. In several cases the courts were unable to find proved the accusation of the existence of some kind of mafia entity. Tax payers are to bear the 100 billion Hungarian Forints which is contested in the lawsuit connected to Sukoro investment.

Miklós Hagyó former socialist Deputy Mayor was shocked when he saw himself in a picture in a FIDESZ campaign poster on the streets. In those posters he is not illustrated in a good manner at all. Although he has been retired for 4 years and he has no intention to return to the public life. Our newspaper went to what happened with those members of the public against whose criminal procedures were initiated – not exempted from political overtones – during 2009 and 2010. Which is the present status of these procedures, is there any decision in force, the accused are released or sentenced?

INDEMNITY

We were looking for Miklós Hagyó to take a statement about how he has lived through the past years, what lesson was stabbed from his position of Deputy Mayor, what he would do in another way and what is the truth about the alleged millions carried in a Nokia box. However – via his legal representative – he said that he does not intend to say a word. “Once you’re bitten by a snake you fear the lizard as well.” – reflected András Kádár attorney-at-law why his defendant rejects to comment. It is known from Hagyó that he lives secluded in the embrace of his family. After his arrest his physical condition was broken down, he lost 37 kg weight. Now he has been waiting for the end of the criminal proceedings regarding the BKV case. Miklós Hagyó was arrested on 14th new Parliament, almost at the same time when his former socialist party co-‘s took their oath. Although he had indicated – via his legal representative – to the authority weeks ago that it is his full intention to cooperate with them, special police force knocked on his house’s door. He opened the door then the special force pushed him against the wall, handcuffed and led him in the crossfire of the media. The video had been shown for weeks by the public media. Meanwhile Hagyó’s condition was getting worse and worse in the correctional institution, he spent more than 4 months in a guard house where the available space was 3,52 square meter per person, furniture included. Then he spent 4 months in another place where the ratio was 4,7 square meter per person. His lawyers wanted him to be placed to home guard however they also referred to and emphasized a procedural anomaly: the authorities failed to determine the real reason of the arrest. Also the European Court of Human Rights did not find everything fine since the Court judged EUR 20,000 indemnity in favor of Miklós Hagyó in 2013. As we know Hungary has already paid this amount to him. 

We had a selfie with Hagyó on the Subway line 4!

Today Budapest is celebrating the Subway line 4 with a surprising party exemption. The whole media, competent and amateurs, oranges and red, passengers and BKV workers exalt the final form of the gigantic project.


And true what is true, it’s just enough to go down to one-one station to be completely floored for its own world and for the visions from the forms, shapes, devices and surfaces. I1m not going to even gush more about it, see it if you can.

We thought that we will ask a person on the presentation day, who was concerned in a more deeply way into the project just to cut the strip. Thus through his lawyer we contacted Miklós Hagyó former socialist deputy lord mayor, who – although didn’t cut a stripe today – was responsible for the investment during his office period and (since then it turned out that wrongly, without a reason, with fake cause) he was in pre-trial detention for it.


Miklós Hagyó in the beginning – kept himself for his muteness in the last 4 years – didn’t want to declare, however he called us back during the day to send a short message to everyone who was concerned with the building operations. He did it in this way without any verbal comment:




„From the people who created the idea to the person who pull the last screw, we, thousands of Hungarian people can be proud and we can thank to God that a big building operation like this came true uniquely in the world without any accident.”

Hungary, An Election in Question, Part 5

This is the final post of a new series from my Princeton colleague Kim Lane Scheppele, head of Princeton’s Law and Public Affairs Program.

Hungary: An Election in Question
Part V: The Unequal Campaign
Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton
24 February 2014

Kim Lane Scheppele

Officially, the election campaign in Hungary starts 50 days before an election, so the race began in earnest on 15 February for the 6 April election. Once the campaign period starts in Hungary, special rules ensure that all parties are treated equally.

But as Anatole France once said, “In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, and steal loaves of bread.”

We’ve already seen how the new system in Hungary was designed to push opposition parties into an uncomfortable alliance and to require they win by a substantial margin to win at all. And we’ve seen how the system of minority and foreign voting has opened the doors for Fidesz voters while closing them to those who would vote for opposition parties.

Not surprisingly, the rules for the campaign period itself also have a similar logic.

How Did Hungary’s Election Become a Circus?

By DANNY HAKIMMARCH 1, 2014


BUDAPEST — THE most visible poster on the streets here is not the one advertising the Deep Purple concert at the Papp Laszlo Sportarena. And it’s not the one for “Balkan Kobra,” a theatrical comedy featuring a stubbly hero sporting tight jeans and a Kalashnikov. And it’s definitely not the one for the Budapest Dance Festival.

Instead, it’s the one that shows three or four guys wearing neckties standing in a police lineup, alongside a clown. In one of the more ubiquitous versions of the poster, two of the men are former left-wing prime ministers of Hungary. A third is Attila Mesterhazy, president of the country’s Socialist Party and a current candidate for prime minister in the coming election in April. The fourth is Miklos Hagyo, the former left-wing deputy mayor of Budapest, who is currently the subject of a corruption trial.



An ad from a pro-ruling-party group features opposition politicians, a clown and the tag line “They Don’t Deserve Another Chance.” Credit Akos Stiller for The New York Times

The men, and the clown, appear above the slogan “They Don’t Deserve Another Chance.”

Given that political advertising has been sharply and abruptly curtailed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesz Party, the pre-eminence of a political ad — on billboards, lampposts and the sides of buses — might seem surprising. But Fidesz, which has been widely criticized as taking Hungary in an autocratic direction since taking power in 2010, has become adept at controlling the message. It has rewritten the state’s Constitution, come to dominate all branches of government and held increasing sway over the news media. Meanwhile, according to the International Monetary Fund, Hungary’s economic output is not expected to return to 2008 levels until 2017.

Civil Unity Forum (CÖF) – flyer for almost 40 million

The smear „clown” campaign against the leaders of the opposition united leaders can be even 100 million forint for the CÖF-CÖKA organization which organized the Peace Marches. For the first wave the country was infested with huge billboards, and on the last week they started to spread their 16 pages colored publication in 4 million copies. 

This is shows the opposition leaders in the clown composition which is well known from the billboards. The cost of the campaign is covert by the CÖF-CÖKA. As they still debtor with the cost of the „They ruined the country together” action in the end of 2012 which is focused on Gyurcsány and Bajnai.




Lot of people march with the CÖF, but the supporter is little  PICTURE: ISTVÁN BIELIK


Because in the name of the „civilian” László Csizmadia answered to our paper for the question about their present cost he answered that „we don’t declare in this cases because we said it more times that we are settling and we can be settle”, the Népszava tried to guess the costs for the campaign books. It made us harder that the Hungarian Post Office Ltd. didn’t want to tell us the cost of the spread.

On their website according to their official rate is net 4,5 forint to allocate to the target the advertisement publications, which would mean gross 22,86 million forint, but the Post Office reported that this price is only available for the ”public senders”. (According to our information the Post Office asks from the parties a near tariff as the public senders tariff, which based on the amount in 2010 it got 3,5-4 million „campaign message” to the houses – the editor.) If the state company wouldn’t give a preference for the CÖF-CÖKA which is campaigning for the Fidesz then it would cost 14-16 million forints. 

Free and fair election? It doesn’t look promising

It was on August 6, 2011 that I reported on Hillary Clinton’s apprehensions about the state of democracy in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. She talked about the two-thirds majority that “offers the temptation to overreach. It can … allow for important checks and balances to be swept aside, and valid objections from citizens to be ignored.” 

This is why “the United States and other friends” are urging Hungary to pay special attention to the drafting of the cardinal laws. “The most important of these will pertain to an independent media and judiciary, and free and fair elections. The system cannot be permanently tilted to favor one party or another.”

Elsewhere, also during the same trip to Hungary, in a conversation with leaders of the opposition she reiterated that holding “free and fair elections” is a prerequisite of democracy. If that principle is violated, we can no longer talk about a free and democratic society. She practically told the opposition leaders: let’s see what happens. Until then, we cannot do anything.

Well, the national election will be held on April 6, 2014, and it can easily happen that it will be anything but fair. It will be a system that is “tilted to favor one party.” Foreign observers will most likely not find wholesale cheating, although even that possibility cannot be entirely ruled out, but the constantly changing laws over the past year or so are destined to tilt the playing field in favor of the governing party.


Here are a few worrisome signs that Viktor Orbán is planning to determine the outcome of the election through rules and regulations that are disadvantageous to the opposition. Let’s start with the introduction of a system that forced all the opposition forces to form a united front against one highly centralized and monolithic party, Fidesz. Getting the divergent parties to agree to a common platform took a long time and gave an undue advantage to Fidesz. Second, the redrawing of the electoral districts greatly favors Fidesz. Third, according to the Hungarian constitution the president alone can determine the date of the election within a certain time frame and naturally János Áder, a former Fidesz politician, picked the earliest possible date, which favors the government party. He did that despite the fact that a later date would have allowed the government to hold the national and European parliamentary elections at the same time. Another reason for not holding the two elections simultaneously was Fidesz’s desire to have a low turnout at both elections. A low turnout favors Fidesz.

The Hagyó case had been replaced to Budapest – Népszava article

In the criminal procedure of the former deputy lord mayor and his 14 associates in the warrant from the Kecskemét Tribunal on December 6th, 2013, they established the lack of cognizance and they placed the case to the Budapest Tribunal – announced the Kecskemét Tribunal. 

As it known: Handó Tünde, the president of the National Judicial Office (the wife of József Szájer, who is a Fidesz representative of the European Parliament) in 2012 appointed the Kecskemét Tribunal for the continuance of the process. In the meantime the provisions of measures were eliminated by the Constitutional Court which was the basis of the appointment – with the references of collision with the basic law offence and international contracts.

The official people who works in the BKV case can get 10 years

The bill submitted by MSZP not long ago would punish official people with the possibility of 10 years imprisonment – that way also the prosecutors and the investigators working on the BKV case – who produce made-up evidences or if they participate in this action with malfeasant tools.





The defendants and witnesses involved in the BKV case during the hearing reported one after the other that they’ve made their previous testimonies which were incriminatory to others under humiliating circumstances, directionally, coercion interrogations as a result of the interrogating investigators’ and policemen’s threats.

Even Zsolt Balogh, the case’s key witness and at the same time defendant also admitted that the reason behind his incriminatory statements (for example about the Nokia box) during the election campaign was that he wanted to meet the expectations and to avoid jail. “I’m not a hero, I didn’t want anything else just to go home” – he confessed before the court.

Coercions, magisterial impositions in the Hagyó-case - SUMMARY

Gábor Tóth police superintendent during the whole investigation of the BKV case stated confidently about the process. He undertook it with name that they have the investigation in their hand and he was talking about new evidences and about conclusions what they got from the investigation testimonies.




Contrarily the testimonies which were heard in the case’s trial in Kecskemét from the defendants and from the witnesses sharply confronted with the testimonies of the concerned in the investigation period. From the main defendants and from the witnesses most of them unsaid their investigation testimonies and in the court they did a new testimony. They said about their earlier, incriminatory testimonies against others that they only did it because of police threat, in the exchange of their lives, in humiliation circumstances, it was directional and under coercion.

Ernő Mesterházy, the former advisor of Gábor Demszky on the court he offended the investigators, he called his brought to justice a recklessly violator process. He indicated that he is standing uncomprehendingly in front of the process against him which, according to him „conception, recklessly violator and it’s obligate to serve a political, human, and financial disable”. Moreover he said that according to the record the questioning was for almost 11 hours but the result was only two pages long, the investigation authorities humiliated him and tried to convince him to say an incriminatory testimony against Miklós Hagyó and if he does it than they will let him go from detention.

The AAM did a useful work for the BKV

The court heard another witness about the contract of the investment made in Subway line 4 on the BKV case’s Thursday hearing. After the hearing’s day it is getting cleaner: the AAM Ltd. did a useful work for the BKV and for the owner, Budapest.




Z.D. who was summoned as a witness was working at the BKV since 1988, until September 2007 when Attila Antal, that time CEO of the BKV terminated the contract by common assent. Since 1990 he was working as project manager, decision preparatory and as a public procurement expert, then from 2004 from the ask of Botond Aba he was leading the directorate of the innovation and public procurement until July, 2007, when after the organizational converts he got into the head of the engineering directorate as the deputy CEO.

„Homemade do it yourself” in the Hagyó case

The expert IT witness called, on the Thursday’s trial against Miklós Hagyó (who is the former deputy lord mayor) and his associates, a few elements of the passenger informant system at the local train between Batthyány and Békásmegyer which was constructed for 118 million forint.




According to the expert witness who was asked by the court the passenger informant system’s display was unsuitable for the function, the software of the system didn’t work as the calling for tender said.

Ibolya Hadnagy, the board leader judge is continuing the process of proof since the second day about the passenger informant system which was constructed by the C. C. Soft Ltd., and which according to the accusation made 118 million forints of damage for the BKV Ltd. 

BKV case: the expert who supported the accusation washed-out

The BKV case trial continued on the Kecskemét Tribunal on Thursday with dissect of the BKV’S contracts with the connection of the local train of Szentendre. 

The prosecution tried to prove that the system is overpriced and it was a bad quality with the cancellation of BKV workers. According to the defenders they heard in irregular way and as a witness the CEOs of the two other applicant companies who lost. For example one of them stated distinctly if he is biased in the case or not.




During the testimonies it was even more surprising turn that the directors of the companies who lost – former BKV workers – in contrast with the C. C. Soft Ltd. they worked together towards the win of the 100 million forint contract. One of them for example participated in the transcript of the tender. The defendants could prove that the losers of the project prohibited the fulfillment of the contract from inside of the BKV. 

BKV case: other accusations fell

The prosecution got off 5 contracts from the counts. Again a document just turned up which wasn’t revealed for the defense. Since Tuesday it’s still big works in the BKV case.




It’s not the first time when a proof just turned out in the BKV case which was not shown to the defense. At this time it was about a letter where the CEO of the C.C. Soft wrote that outsider mistakes and connection problems with other companies set back the configuration works of the passenger informant system. 

The BKV case is starting tomorrow – Népszava article

Tomorrow the BKV case is continuing with an interesting count in the Kecskemét Tribunal. The next count’s weirdness, which is connected to the BKV’s passenger informant system, that Balogh Zsolt, the former CEO of the BKV, in his testimony against Miklós Hagyó (who is the deputy lord mayor),he admitted an accounting sheet as his own when in reality he didn’t even signed it.



According to the indictment the contract with the C.C. Soft Ltd, which was about the configuration of the Local Train of Szentendre’s visual passenger informant system, made 118,8 million forints of financial disadvantage for the transportation company. In the company’s inside enquiry report in February, 2010, and in the accusation it says that the partial invoices, the efficiency certifications, and the accounting sheets which were connected to the contract was signed by Balogh. Moreover, Balogh also stated this in his testimony in March, 2010. 

So far there is no decision for 150 days – Dear Constitutional Court, the summer holiday is over!

So far there is no decision from the Constitutional Court since 150 days in the case of the lawsuit transferences, so thus not even in the BKV case which is a special case.



We already wrote on the 120th day of the waiting that the Constitutional Court on the 21st of April, 2013 questioned Handó Tünde who is the president of the National Judicial Office with the lawsuits transferences and with the constitutional complaint in the connection of Miklós Hagyó and his associates. The complaint was born because they transferred the BKV case to the Kecskemét Tribunal (which Tribunal is already proved with political bias in the Zuschlag case) without the possibility of a remedy against the decision. The questioning happened with the exclusion of the public and the concerned people. 

"There was no precedent for a black ops campaign against somebody - 2010 february"

"There was no precedent for a black ops campaign against somebody - 2010 february"



(Photo Source: www.pecsistop.hu)

Here you can find another video about Miklós Hagyó. It's about the time when he was charged and because of the selections he had to resign from his district and from his Budapest mandate in the interest of the campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0QhHtd6Mj8

Studies

Here we have included academic recognition which the case has received.

Kecskemét Tribunal

Here we have included academic recognition which the case has received.

The Indictment

Here you can view the original indictment related to the trial of Miklós Hagyó and the other associates of the Budapest Transit Company (BKV). Since the debut of the trial, the prosecution has altered the charges and other information which make up the indictment. Unfortunately, this most up-to-date version is still not available. Nevertheless, the original charges and the prosecution’s general theory can be viewed.

State Audit Office of Hungary

Here you can find documents directly and indirectly related to the audit of Hagyó Miklós' deputy mayoral office and administration. The audit was conducted by the SAOH while Hagyó was in pretrial detention.




Legal Summary of criminal procedure initiated upon the denunciation of the State Audit Office against Miklós Hagyó.