Though under an international agreement signed in 1961 diplomats have immunity in their host country, their government can lift that immunity in certain cases.

He argued that if a Hungarian diplomat “openly raised serious charges against a government official of their host country,” he would “encourage” them to give up their immunity and support their claim in front of the authorities of that country.

On Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called on the US diplomat “not to hide behind his immunity” and also suggested that tax authority chief Ildikó Vida, banned from the US under suspicion of graft, should file a defamation lawsuit against Goodfriend.

On Tuesday, the tax office said Vida would “take the necessary measures”.

In a post on Twitter, Goodfriend wrote: “US and Hungary have excellent legal cooperation, including a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.”

Late on Monday, Géza Fazekas, spokesman for the chief prosecutor, said that his authority had applied for legal assistance to the US in connection with the entry ban on Oct. 27.

Opposition Együtt co-leader Viktor Szigetvári insisted it was “not true” that the public prosecutor had officially applied for legal assistance to the US.

He insisted that Péter Polt had merely filed an informal enquiry to US authorities in connection with the entry ban, without any obligations on the US side.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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MTI photo: Bruzák Noémi