Share article

In Budapest, thousands of people took to the streets near parliament demanding the resignation of the chief prosecutor and Prime Minister Viktor Orban after a former government insider accused a senior aide to Orban of attempting to interfere in a corruption case.

Protesters marched from the chief prosecutor's office towards parliament, chanting "Resign, resign," with many carrying torches.

Peter Magyar earlier released a recording of a conversation with Judit Varga, then his wife and Hungary's justice minister, in which she detailed an attempt by aides to Orban's cabinet chief to remove certain parts from documents in a corruption case.

The case revolves around former justice ministry state secretary Pal Volner, who was charged in 2022 with accepting bribes from the former head of the Court Bailiffs, Gyorgy Schadl. Both have pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors are seeking jail terms for the pair.

Prosecutors stated they would analyze the tape, which Magyar claimed he recorded in January 2023, and further evidence would be collected.

"It is legally and physically impossible to eliminate and meddle in prosecution documents," the statement said.

Prosecutors were scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday.

The allegations come at a politically sensitive time for Orban ahead of European parliamentary elections in June, following a sex abuse scandal that led to the downfall of two of Orban's political allies - the former president and former justice minister Judit Varga - last month.

Magyar, a 43-year-old lawyer formerly close to the government, plans to launch a new party to challenge Orban.