The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is like the gentlemen’s club.

The Hungarian judiciary is being criticised by both the right and the left-wing political parties for their decisions made in such cases as the red mud disaster case, the Hagyó-case and the Sukoró-case. The press conference held by Attila Harangozó, president of the Regional Court of Szeged, and his deputy, Attila Hámori aimed at reacting among others to the above mentioned.

Attila Harangozó began the discussion with pointing out that every organization has a structure and on top of the structure there is a leader appointed accordingly. The successful work of an organization requires the loyalty and professionalism of all the members. The court is a national organization – it has to work for the interest of the state and in harmony with it.

It was a lie, however it contributed to the two-third - atv.hu

According to the lawyer of Miklós Hagyó, ex-Deputy Lord Mayor of the socialist party - having been sentenced to suspended imprisonment – there is a direct twofold connection between the Nokia-box, the memento of the BKV-scandal reaching its peak during the parliamentary election period in 2010 and the win of the currently governing parties with two-third majority. According to the election expert answering to our questions the corruption case did contribute to the uncertain voters’ deciding for the right-wing.

Based on the sentence passed by the court of first instance at the beginning of the week none of the accused in the Hagyó-case has to go to prison, what is more some of them are entitled to bring an action for damages. Three of the four charges against the first accused, former Deputy Lord Mayor, have been dismissed by the court. However, for abuse of authority and breach of fiduciary duty he has been sentenced to tow-year imprisonment suspended for four years.

The Magical Nokia-box - part 20.

Why is the Nokia-box still talked about?

It seems to be that a part of the leading politicians ignore the fact that Balogh unsaid his testimony. The parties are still referring to the Nokia-box in front of the public. They must have some interest in doing so, since they are continuously trying to put either each other or the MSZP in an awkward position with it.

Did they attempt to raise the issue again closer to the campaign period?

As they did it before in 2010 during the parliamentary elections period and later the municipal elections period they raised the issue of the nokia box during the campaign period of the elections in 2014. The timing was planned well in advance: at the beginning of 2012 at the press conference following the reassignment of the suit to Kecskemét it was announced that the firs-instance verdict will be delivered in the peak of the campaign period, 2014.

The Magical Nokia-box - part 19.

Are there any cases related to Miklós Hagyó which were closed?

In spite of the obvious partiality four cases related to the Magic-box were closed. It was proved before the court that in the pre-trial detention Hagyó did not commit falsification of private documents related to his registered partner’s visits. Related to the lockup of his wealth the court decision was made in his favour. The investigation initiated based on the report made by the State Audit Office was dropped, furthermore the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg decided in Hagyó’s favor against the Hungarian state in connection with the conditions of his custody.

How many proceedings have been closed in favor of Hagyó?

Currently the BKV-case the legal state is 4:0 in favor of Hagyó since the investigation initiated based on the report made by the State Audit Office was dropped by the Prosecution Office. It means that in all the four cases the court decided in favor of Hagyó in spite of every effort made by the prosecution.

The Magical Nokia-box - part 18.

Is the public media biased towards the BKV-case?

The government of Fidesz passed the new press and media act. In the Media Council established under the new act there is no a single member who could be supposed to be in favour of the independent press. Although, it is the main responsibility of the MTI to provide the press with the latest and objective news, in the communication having been provided by them in relation to the BKV-case important bits of information have been lost. In most of their reports the focus is more on the details of the older testimonies which have already been unsaid in most of the cases. At many points they have penned briefly and ambiguously, furthermore their titles have not reflected accurately the events took place during the trials.

Has the public media given up being independent?

The new press and media act issued by the government of Fidesz and the omnipotent Media Council elected for 9 years provide this impression. Since its being passed the act has been heavily and justifiably criticised both at a nationwide and an international level. Negative opinions have been expressed worldwide on the current status of the Hungarian democracy and “freedom” of the Hungarian media by the leading newspapers, diplomats and political organizations.

The prosecutor getting Hagyó into custody is also one of Tarlós’s chief advisors

The former prosecutor who succeeded to have the former Deputy Lord Mayor of MSZP in custody appears on the list of Tarlós’s advisors by the name of her husband’s with a monthly salary of 850 thousand forints. Former counter intelligence agents and police officers involved in the BKV-case are employed by the capital city, as well.

One of the Lord Mayor’s most well-paid chief advisors is Péter Ottóné Szabadvári dr. The lawyer currently using his husband’s name at the City Hall worked as prosecutor by the name of Katalin Vámos: she was involved not only in the Hagyó-case but also in proceedings against more executives in Budapest. Her name also appears in cases of breach of state-secrets and in the cases in connection with the UD Ltd. She is not the only one who took a role in these cases and became employed by the capital after Tarlós had been elected.

The former prosecutor can be hardly recognized

On the salary list published by the Origo a couple of weeks ago the most well-paid advisor in the 14-member advisory team appears by the name of her husband, Péter Ottóné Szabadvári dr. The chief advisor working as special referee for a monthly salary of 850 thousand forints was identified by the Origo as the former prosecutor who had played an important role in the Hagyó-case.

Hagyó Files

The primary purpose of this blog is to serve as a source of information on the BKV case in Budapest, Hungary. The “Hagyó Case” as it commonly known in Hungary due the main defendant, Hagyó Miklós, will be presented and hopefully discussed through this blog either in blog-style articles, more journalistic compositions, or case-related documents. The case has garnered much domestic and international attention due to the high-profile defendants who were an alleged criminal network in the midst of Hungary’s on-going transition from a repressive communist regime into a transparent democracy in today’s highly globalized stage. If you are interested and would like to follow our updates, please register via the RSS feed!

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. 

The Fidesz had been curing – It could have been prevent the lot of penalty

Really it should have been only this, and then the Hungarian tax-payers shouldn’t have to pay the penalty damages because of the case transferences? It’s a public joke.

We can start this story from far away, but there is no sense for the enumeration. They will do this a few years later on the law schools, when probably the purpose which allusive the special criminal cases and which is supported by the 2/3 government will be a curriculum in there.


This made it happen that Tünde Handó, who was newly elected president of the National Judicial Office in the January of 2012, could appoint court which are equal in scope but it’s diverge than the general cognizance courts in politically tender cases, like the Sukoró’s plot change, the BKV case, or the trial of György Hunvald. The National Judiciary Office had the same charge from lot of sides, that they appoint these kinds of cases according a sin which countryside court has a stricter or more extenuate judgment, according to the earlier cases.

Let’s go to Kecskemét

The BKV case should had been trial in the Budapest Court, but Tünde Handó appointed it to the Kecskemét Court in the February of 2012, with the allude to the workloads of the other court. Against the decision the concerned people couldn’t make an appeal but they made a constitutional complaint and they asked for suspend of the process. All of this didn’t block the process, the appointed judge started the case in the Kecskemét Court. She questioned all the defendants and almost all of the witnesses. Roughly after 50 days of hearings December of 2013 came, when the Constitutional Court in their decision established that the laws about the case transferences were repealed by the Parliament and it’s come up against the Basic Law and against the international rules. 

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.”

They can start the Hagyó case from the beginning

There is still no owner for the notorious crimes, for the BKV scandal, for the 15 billion MVM misappropriations or for the Sukoró case. All of these were started in the countryside, but after the decision from the Constitutional Court about the case transferences, the cases had been stopped, because the courts in the countryside didn’t keep being competent anymore. 

The special cases can be stopped for maximum 3 months without consequences. By this time we already overstepped the 3 months round, so it seems like that now it doesn’t matter anymore that what court will be the competent, they have to start over all the special cases.

On 13th of June, 2012 the criminal suit of Miklós Hagyó, former deputy lord mayor and his fellows started on the Kecskemét Tribunal. Photo: Huszti István / Index

The arguments about the unclaimed notorious cases came so far for now that – it seems like – that it sure that they have to start them over, independently from that fact that in which court will the cases continue. These are those difficult, big cases what the transferred to countryside court because of the workload of the Budapest’s court: such as the BKV scandal which was transferred to Kecskemét, or the former MVM leader, István Kocsis’s 15 billion misappropriation case which started in Kaposvár. The status of these cases fell over when the Constitutional Court in the beginning of December said that the former law which was the basis of the case transferences was unconstitutional and it had been already repealed. First it said that the decision of the Constitutional Court doesn’t influence the pending cases because the Constitutional Court rejected the proposal when they asked the extermination of the dockets of the transferences. 

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.

BKV case: it was a normal contest

The BKV case trial continued with the former leader of the department of investment’s hearing today on the Kecskemét Tribunal. The witness was heard in the count of the C. C. Soft Ltd. accusation. On the hearing he made it obvious: this company made the best offer for the configuration of the passenger informant system.




The former leader of the department started to work at the transportation company in 1974, and in the lack of 10 days he was working there for 35 years, until May, 2008. He led the department of the investment from March, 1997 until August, 2007, when because of the realignment he became to the front of the developmental department. About the questioned period – summer of 2007 – he said that at that time the department controlled 170-180 investments. 

The accusations with the C.C. Soft are misty – reporting from the court room

Not one question came up in the people after the Thursday’s hearing of the BKV case. The technical terms like interface XM 25, data link, guards just fluttered. The court’s and the reader’s situation is not easy. We will try to clear this up, howsoever the situation with the I/14 count seems like misty.





Because of course what just happened in a ”shallow and rough-and-ready” way?

There is a several billion forint project, in it’s maiden name, the whole reconstruction of the Szentendre’s local train, which is proceed in it’s own way, in practice it had to be ready for the fall of 2007. However the modernization of the passenger informant system is dropped out of it, which of course should be do in lightening steps, after all the fall is coming, the school season is coming.

BKV case: absurd mix-up in the court room – Stop.hu article

On the Kecskemét Tribunal they would prove the condition of the local train’s passenger informant system in 2008 with photos which were taken in 2011. From this it became a comical mix-up, but they still couldn’t prove the accusation.




On the Thursday’s hearing on the carpet it was again the accusations of the contracts with the C. C. Soft. The witnesses who were heard were the responsible people in the department of the investment of the local train’s passenger informant system. One of them, F. P. as he said, he feels that in the October of 2007 at the explosion of the media scandal he became in the position like this because he was inexperienced and manageable. He stated that for November, 2007 the testing could start and however a lot of mistakes were revealed, the workers of the C. C. Soft did everything for the insurance of the system’s working. The witness stated in his investigation testimony that Zsolt Balogh, that time deputy CEO of the BKV, took in the decision power. With this he would have support the concept of the accusation but for the questions of the defense he said that from the defendants, no one ordered him to any outlawry or committal of an abuse. Attila Antal, the former CEO of the BKV, in his observation he noted that if F. P. wouldn’t have signed the achievement certification which are in the accusation then they couldn’t paid the C. C. Soft, and then the project would have been stopped which the witness was responsible for. 

BKV case: the local train’s display is on the carpet

On the yesterday’s hearing of the BKV the counts with the C. C. Soft were on the carpet. The court heard two witnesses who were the responsible people of the project in the company’s department of investments in 2007 when the company established the passenger informant system of the Szentendre’s local train. 

For the end of the day it revealed: during their activity they had no sign to the management of the transportation company that would include that the project wouldn’t fulfill.