Lawyer for Hankó Balázs: prosecution violation made mockery of former minister
Defence counsel Tóth M. Gábor believes the prosecution exceeded its legal remit when it disclosed Hankó's request to bring his own hairdresser to prison.
Hankó's lawyer: prosecution violation caused the scandal
According to Index, Tóth M. Gábor, defence counsel for Hankó Balázs, publicly responded to information that appeared in the press claiming that the former minister had requested his own hairdresser be allowed into prison. The lawyer, in an opinion piece published on 24.hu, argues that the prosecution's information practice at this point exceeded its legal remit.
Tóth M. Gábor acknowledged that Hankó qualifies as a public figure and therefore must tolerate more in debates concerning public matters. According to the Civil Code, however, a public figure is entitled to the same protection regarding their private and family life as any other citizen – and according to the lawyer, the hairdresser request falls within this private sphere.
Why did the former minister request a hairdresser?
The background to the request is that Hankó was initially held in custody at the Cegléd Police Headquarters detention facility, where due to a lack of specialist staff they were unable to ensure that hair cutting was carried out in compliance with regulations. According to point 29 of instruction 21/2020 (VI. 11) of the Prison Service Authority, hair cutting must be carried out in a room designed for that purpose, if possible with the involvement of a detainee employed in hairdressing. Moreover, according to law, detainees are entitled to use a hairdresser at least once a month free of charge.
Hankó Balázs submitted a request on 21 October 2026 with the involvement of his own hairdresser – not on the date to which the prosecution spokesperson quoted by Telex attributed the case. According to the lawyer, the reason for this was not "putting on airs" but an objective fact of the Cegléd detention facility: appropriate specialist staff was not available.
The request was registered five days later, on 26 October, the day Hankó was transferred to the Bács-Kiskun County Prison Service Institute. Two days after this, the request was rejected. "On 21 October, Hankó Balázs thus did not know that he would be transferred to the Prison Service Institute, where measures would be taken to ensure general hygiene," the lawyer wrote.
The suspect was "pilloried"
According to Tóth M. Gábor, "the request and its applicant became an object of mockery as a result of the Public Prosecutor's violation of the law; the suspect – who cannot respond publicly due to his detention – was pilloried".
The lawyer believes the information given to the press was self-serving and inciteful. At the same time, he stressed that the transparency of criminal proceedings is an important value; society has the right to know what a former minister is suspected of and why he is being held in custody. "The prosecution should inform about these matters precisely and regularly. But never about the detainee's private life, his hair cutting, his religious life," he emphasised.
Source: Index