Varju insisted that his claim was already proven by the "presidential pardon scandal" early last year, when the then president granted a pardon to an accomplice of a convicted paedophile "with the consent of the government".

While "some thought that was an isolated case, by now it has become clear that [ruling] Fidesz operates a paedophile network catering girls and boys from children's homes for state leaders," Varju said.

"They prostitute children in state care while making the beneficiaries untouchable and rich," he added.

Varju demanded stricter rules for child abuse offenders as well as extending the legal obligation to report sexual offences against minors to clerics.

Bence Retvari, parliamentary state secretary of the interior ministry, said that the accusations concerning a young offender institution in Budapest's Szolo Street were no more than "baseless accusations and slander". He said it was "unacceptable" that deputies were "trampling on the reputation of others without any factual evidence".

Retvari insisted that the previous governments had prosecuted and imprisoned 81 paedophiles, while currently there were over 700 behind bars.

"The difference is hundreds of paedophiles that were allowed free rampage," he said.

Orban: Szolo Street case 'had to be faced' (Part 1)

Deputy PM Zsolt Semjen "was right when he faced the Szolo Street case", Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday, adding that the case was an attack aimed to paralyse the government, a "well-constructed attempt to topple the government, with an aspect involving foreign secret services."

Speaking on the Fight Hour podcast, Orban insisted that "it was not an attack against just Semjen or any other government member ... it was a blood libel ... against which half the country could rise." But, he said, the government had "launched a counter-offensive." He said he usually ignored accusations based on false information, but now he saw eye to eye with Semjen to face the challenge.

The prime minister said he approved of Semjen's position because "if government members are accused of the gravest possible crime" and proven guilty, "the government has to go".

"Semjen is correct to call it a blood libel, which must not be ignored, he said. He added that in this case "not only the reputation of the government and the state had to be protected but their operability, too".

Two government members have been accused "of the gravest crime under common law, he said, adding that the accusations were false and "serious legal ramifications" could be expected with "no mercy".

According to Orban, it is obvious "who started the accusations and how the next and the third and the fourth medium took the reports over, and then finally how they named people and how the opposition leaders - from Peter Magyar to Klara Dobrev - got involved". "They still uphold those accusations, these people commit criminal offences each day ... it does not appear as if this were not orchestrated," Orban said.

"Those that have participated in spreading the rumours were aware that they were committing a crime which would have legal consequences," Orban said.

Answering a remark by a viewer, Orban said "the moment child abuse is reported, the authorities will act", adding that Hungary's child protection system was efficient and employed thousands of "serious and committed" people. "Now and then there is a rotten apple in the basket, but it will be thrown out without delay," Orban said.

Meanwhile, the prime minister called independent MP Akos Hadhazy a "pathetic half-wit", whom he did not consider a politician.

"Entertainment and politics are intertwined; from one direction there come actors playing politicians and lunatic politicians from the other direction. They meet in the middle, that is now Hungary's opposition camp," Orban said.

The police need help by making legislation clearer in certain sensitive cases that are difficult to assess from a legal perspective, Orban said. He said that in certain areas, police officers must sometimes "spend more time pondering about the law than taking action".

He added that he believed this was not good. The interior minister's response to this situation had been that the laws were not clear enough, Orban said, adding that "he may be right in that". "So let's make them clear," Orban said.

Concerning opposition Tisza leader Peter Magyar, Orban said that he was "preferred in Brussels" and said "people acting here on foreign instructions are mostly crazy ... Mihaly Karolyi, who was also a dimwit, had been delegated by the French; later on Szalasi was helped to power by the Germans, and Rakosi, who was also mad, the Soviets."

"They can all appear serious, but will then create huge trouble for the country," he added.

Prosecutor's office takes over investigation into Szolo Street young offender institution

The chief prosecutor's office has taken over an ongoing investigation into "human trafficking, forced labour and other crimes" concerning a young offender institution in Budapest's Szolo Street, the office announced.

According to the office's statement, a separate unit within the Chief Central Prosecutor's Office of Investigations will be set up to look into all aspects of the alleged crimes in an expedited procedure.

So far, two suspects in detention have been questioned, the statement said.

Orban: 'Fake news scandal' connected to Szolo Street in focus

'A fake news scandal is in focus', which is linked to "a prison, a correctional facility, a young offenders' institution" in Budapest's Szolo Street, whose leader used to prostitute women, "but that has nothing to do with the juvenile male inmates", the prime minister said.

"All government members are innocent; the integrity of none of the ministers can be questioned," Viktor Orban said in an interview with public broadcaster Kossuth Radio. Members of the government "cannot be linked to such criminal activities", he said, adding that "anyone that should still do so will ... face serious legal consequences."

"A yet to be investigated system, which probably has foreign aspects, has started spreading rumours of a paedophile crime with connections to the government," Orban said. "This is extremely serious because paedophilia is the most serious crime in this civilisation ... paedophiles must be imprisoned. There is no capital punishment and they cannot be quartered but that would probably be the optimum solution," he said.

But "accusing another person of paedophile acts with no reason is an equally serious crime ... serious if levelled at a private individual but twice as serious if a public official ... is targeted," Orban said.

"If accusations of paedophilia are made to destroy the position of a person, ruin the reputation of the police or that of public administration, or to topple a minister or the government, that crime is three times as serious," the prime minister said.

"Hearsay in this case is no minor offence; one may gossip, but accusing people of the most serious crime is not okay," Orban said. "In this case the perpetrators -- including opposition politicians -- were aware that if they were accusing another person of committing a paedophile crime, they would face punishment," he added. "They will get what they could expect."

Meanwhile, Orban advocated "decent behaviour" and said it could "help a lot in politics, too ... you don't need to harm others, be aggressive, and count to ten before saying something when you are upset." "Politics is for those that can handle their own temper even in a heated debate," Orban added.

He also said such situations may occur "when there are problems within a civilisation, when people and their leaders feel that they are not in control of a situation." "Western Europe is now in a situation like that ... migration has overturned everything.

Life is getting worse in Europe and all that surrounds us will increase arrogance, and that will surface in politics, too ... but politicians have a responsibility to restrain that irritated, aggressive, violent medium from entering the public discourse ... think ten times before you say something," Orban said.

Meanwhile, Orban said the government on Wednesday decided on designating antifa as a terrorist organisation. The government will compile a national list of terrorist organisations and take the strictest possible action against them, he said. The government must be a leader in ensuring that actions and any "announced criminal intentions" do not go unpunished, he added.

Asked if Hungary could have an alternative to Russian energy, Orban said a suspension of purchases of Russian gas and oil would cut the country's GDP by 4 percent, "ruining hundreds of thousands of families".

Such a suspension, he said, would raise households' energy bills on a scale of hundreds of thousands of forints, while cutting supply. He added that landlocked Hungary relied on pipelines, one built during the communist era and one that allowed deliveries from the south, for its crude and gas, and nobody had offered viable alternatives.

Orban said he had told US President Donald Trump about an International Monetary Fund (IMF) analysis that showed a cutoff of Russian gas and crude would result in an output loss of more than 4 percent of GDP for Hungary.

"That would be a catastrophe, bringing the Hungarian economy to its knees," he added.

Asked about the US president's response, Orban said the US was a big country and Hungary a small one, but both were sovereign states.

"There is no need for either of us to accept the other's arguments. America has its arguments and its interests, and so does Hungary. We must do one thing: clearly express and advocate those arguments and interests. And if we're on good terms, if we are friends, then we'll listen. Afterward, everybody can do what they want," he added.

"The more money that is left with families, the better," he added.

Orban said the opposition parties were in favour of taking money away from people and businesses and redistributing it "to make the world fairer". "But I learned that this leads to bankruptcy, and in the end, everyone is worse off," he said.

"Our philosophy is that we must ensure the operation of certain public services, but preferably also leave as much money with families and businesses because they know better what they need than if someone were to tell them in a centralised way and transfer money to them," Orban said.

Similarly, the prime minister said, the opposition had always said the government was spending too much on culture and sports. "But while it’s important for us to be well off, we should also have nice things," he said, adding that it was culture and sports that guaranteed that. Supporting sports was also important for discipline and "a way of helping parents raise their children to be good people", he said.

Orban said he had been shocked to hear that the opposition Tisza Party was planning to scrap the "TAO" corporate culture and sports subsidies, adding that this would affect hundreds of thousands of children, rather than professional athletes.

The Hungarian state supports investments, Orban said, noting a 280 billion forint Singaporean investment in Bekescsaba, in south-eastern Hungary, that will directly create 2,500 jobs and thousands more indirectly. 

This was supported by a 40 billion forint government grant, he said. But if the government had followed the logic of Tisza’s economic expert and former state secretary Andras Karman, this grant would not have been given to the Singaporean company, and there would not have been 2,500 new jobs created in Bekescsaba, he added.

Orban said he understood "what is right or wrong according to textbooks", but "these economists have never come out of their banks and have no idea about the lives of people who can only feed their families if they have jobs locally". Those who oppose supporting businesses and investment "are actually taking food away from Hungarians", he said.

He said he had warned Karman when he was state secretary "not to say things like this because it’s against the interests of Hungarians", adding that this was also why Karman had left the government and joined Tisza.

Meanwhile, Orban said it was not only the leaders of Tisza but also a majority of its voters who were in favour of raising taxes and introducing progressive taxation in place of a flat-rate tax regime. The prime minister cited a survey in which "80-90 percent of them said progressive taxation was preferable".

He said Tisza also wanted to change the family support system and introduce an asset tax.

If such a tax were to be introduced, Orban said, "everybody will have to submit asset declarations and once again the state will have control over people's assets."

Based on those declarations a national register would be compiled with "asset probes" to follow, the prime minister warned. "Thousands of people in Buda[pest] will be imposed very high taxes on their properties," he added.

"Hungary has already seen such a regime," he said, and proposed that "taxation should be simple and taxes small".

"If possible, let us not bother people; let us not enter their homes, demand tax declarations, let us not ask them where they spend their holidays, or what car they drive but let them work," Orban said.

As regards a European Parliamentary committee proposal to uphold the immunity of Hungary's opposition MEP Peter Magyar, Orban said a politician who could be blackmailed was "jackpot for Brussels".

Orban noted that he refused to meet "some Brussels demands" such as "allowing illegal migrants in, lifting the special tax on banks and international companies or scrapping the household utility caps scheme".

The Hungarian government also refuses to change its family support system and "send the funds thus saved to Ukraine" or "to get involved in the war in Ukraine", Orban said. "I say no to all these things and I won't be blackmailed," the prime minister added.

"Brussels needs a leader that they can hold to ransom, who will allow migrants in, take Hungary to war, side with Ukraine and destroy the utility caps ... they want a leader in Hungary that can be joysticked," Orban said.

"Magyar is subject to blackmail; he will not be prosecuted in Hungary for theft because those in Brussels are protecting him through his immunity ... they want to make him prime minister and then squeeze decisions out of him that could be lethal to Hungary," Orban said.

"As long as there is a patriotic government in Hungary, such decisions will not be made," he added.

Govt MPs reject accusations concerning young offender facility

Representatives of Fidesz and the junior co-ruling Christian Democrats on Monday rejected an opposition party's accusations that government members have been involved in alleged sexual abuse at a young offender institution in Budapest's Szolo Street.

Laszlo Sebian-Petrovszki of the opposition Democratic Coalition asked if a recent investigation had managed to identify "the actual perpetrators" of child abuse as well as "those who allowed this to happen". He demanded that "the two people involved" in what he said was "Fidesz's pedophile scandal" be named.

Bence Retvari, the (Fidesz) state secretary of the interior ministry, forcefully rejected the opposition MP's "sneaky" remarks and insisted that the remarks did not contain "a single concrete fact or evidence", adding that Sebian-Petrovszki had "trampled on the reputation of others without any factual evidence."

Christian Democrat MP Istvan Hollik said the accusations were "disgusting" and the opposition was "accusing people without any foundation". He called on the opposition deputies "not to make hints but put forward if they know something".

Youth facility director's case used in 'organised, coordinated attack against govt' - ministry

The criminal proceedings against the head of a youth offender institution in Szolo Street in Budapest are being used in a "planned, coordinated campaign against the government which lacks any foundation in facts and aims to hobble the government's ability to take action", the justice minister said on Facebook on Wednesday, presenting a report by the ministry.

Bence Tuzson said on Facebook that the director of the facility is suspected of employing women in their 20's at the facility who then engaged in prostitution, with his knowledge and help. The director drew financial benefits from the women's prostitution, the report said.

No politician or child has so far been implicated, neither as a witness nor as perpetrator, the report said.

The youth correctional facility is holding 12-18-year old boys who had been accused of crimes.

Further, the report said that "the order of the allegations published and the persons making the statements leads to the suspicion that a coordinated, premeditated campaign is under way without any factual background, with the aim of hobbling the government's ability to take action."

The first claims implicating government members came from former institute director Gabor Kuslits in an interview with Valasz Online on Sept 8. Then, Facebook posts by opposition politicians Andras Jambor, Klara Dobrev, geopolitical expert Csaba Kancz and actor Aron Molnar and others kept the matter in the limelight, it said.

When heard as a witness, Kuslits told the police that he had not named the politicians since then mired in the matter. "He said he based his statements on hearsay," the report added.

Meanwhile, Kancz told the police he had no concrete evidence and refused to divulge the name of his source, saying he was a journalist at an outlet called Privatbankar. "At the same time, he clearly wrote the Facebook post as a private individual, not as a journalist," the report said.

The ruling parties and government members implicated in the case will file police reports against everyone "involved in libel", it said.

The government has declared zero tolerance against crimes against children, and has given the National Protection Services the right to scrutinise the lifestyle of every employee in the child protection system, the report said. The crimes in the original procedure were uncovered thanks to such a review, it said.

MTI Stock Photo - for illustrative purposes only

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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