Lázár confirmed that Pharaon had applied for a Hungarian visa at the Hungarian embassy in Beirut on October 24, 2014. He said Hungary had asked six EU countries whether granting Pharaon a visa would hurt their interests in any way and also notified the US and Saudi Arabia about the visa application. Germany had no objections, while the US and Saudi Arabia have yet to respond, he said.

Hungarian authorities therefore had no access to any information on the basis of which they should have rejected granting Pharaon a visa, Lázár added. He confirmed that Pharaon had visited Hungary after obtaining a visa. “Several things are unclear as regards his [Pharaon’s] identity, but the Constitutional Protection Office and the police are working to clear those up,” Lázár said.

The government has recently come under fire from opposition parties for its alleged dealings with Pharaon. Quoting the prime minister’s earlier comments on the situation, Lázár suggested that Pharaon’s activities in Hungary did not pose a national security risk.

Lázár said the reason why Hungarian authorities had not arrested Pharaon when he was in Hungary in 2015 was because it was not until about six months ago that Interpol had confirmed to Hungary that Pharaon is on its wanted list. The government office chief also commented on unconfirmed press reports that the “far-right militant group” led by the suspect in last week’s shooting of a police officer in north-western Hungary had organised training exercises for Russian secret service agents.

Lázár said those reports should be looked into by parliament’s national security committee. Interior ministry officials will also have to brief the committee about their own findings in the case, he added. Asked if other “paramilitary” groups would be investigated, Lázár said that the state had regained the monopoly on the use of force when it outlawed the Hungarian National Guard, a uniformed far-right movement along with other paramilitary radical groups in 2010.

The interior ministry has a workforce devoted solely to preventing the emergence of such groups, he added. Answering a question, Lázár confirmed that British Prime Minister Theresa May had invited Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on a working visit to the UK for next Wednesday.

The two heads of government are expected to discuss, among others, Brexit, migration, and bilateral ties, he said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

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