Prosecution: police made independent decision on interrogation of István Szakács
According to a prosecution statement, the National Investigation Office of the Rapid Response Police independently ordered the questioning of right-wing influencer as a suspect. This contradicts the earlier statement of the Interior Ministry.
Prosecution contradicts ministry's claims in István Szakács case
According to a statement from the Budapest Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office, the National Investigation Office of the Rapid Response Police independently decided to question right-wing influencer István Szakács as a suspect – as reported by HVG. This stands in direct contradiction to a statement by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday, which stated that "the investigating authority carried out all substantive procedural actions in consultation with the prosecution".
On 3 July 2026, the National Investigation Office notified the Budapest Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office in writing that it had ordered an investigation that day for the offence of threatening to commit a terrorist act. The investigation was based on a video message published by Szakács at the end of June 2026.
On 7 July, the investigating authority informed the Budapest Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office by telephone that it was conducting a search at the influencer's premises, would produce him, and would question him as a suspect. The responsible prosecutor drew the attention of the police by word of mouth to the fact that particular thoroughness must be applied in examining whether the action in question actually meets the relevant provision of the Criminal Code.
On 8 July, following press reports, the Budapest Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office requested information from the National Investigation Office. The police confirmed by telephone that the search had been carried out, István Szakács had been questioned as a suspect, but the man had lodged a complaint against the suspicion. No detention took place.
The prosecution's statement emphasises that, according to the criminal procedure law, during the "investigation" phase preceding suspect interrogation, the investigating authority acts independently and prosecution approval is not necessary to assess the substantiation of suspicion – no such approval occurred in this case either.
The Budapest Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office will be in a position to assess the lawfulness of the suspicion when ruling on the complaint against the suspicion. The complaint and case files arrived at the prosecution from the police on Thursday morning.
Source: HVG