Government’s regular briefing about recent TEK arrests, EC attacks, illegal immigration and terrorism

Budapest, November 26 (MTI) – Hungary’s counter-terrorism force TEK is supposed to focus due attention to any extraordinary development, and did “nothing objectionable” when it apprehended six people last weekend, government office chief Janos Lazar told a press conference on Thursday. Lazar has asked central bank governor Gyorgy Matolcsy to raise the cap on a credit line made available for the purchase of state land. The European Commission has “essentially attacked Hungary” when it started infringement procedures about “every case that was on its table”, he said. The Hungarian government believes that illegal migration and terrorism are inseparable and go “hand in hand”, Lazar said.

Concerning the arrests, made under suspicion of terrorist activities, Lazar said that under such circumstances TEK must guarantee security and “it would be a grave mistake if politicians or journalists made decisions rather than experts.”

The suspects arrested could have meant a security risk for Hungary, which is underlined by information from Budapest’s chief prosecutor, Lazar said.

Earlier on Thursday, Tibor Ibolya, the chief prosecutor, said that some of the suspects apprehended and found to possess automatic weapons, explosives and ammunition, had criminal records.

Tibor Ibolya said the two people apprehended on Friday who had automatic weapons in their vehicle had been arrested before for illegal possession of firearms. One of the two men was arrested in May this year for attempting to smuggle ammunition into the country, while the other one was released from prison last November after serving seven and a half years for the unlawful use of a weapon.

The four people who were apprehended travelling in a car towards Budapest on Saturday were found in possession of second world war grenades, “egg grenades”, ammunition and other explosives.

Of the two Slovak and two Hungarian nationals, the prosecutor only intended to place one in pre-trial detention because TEK had found even more ammunition, grenades, chemicals and fuses in his home and concealed in his clothing. The Budapest Regional Court, however, rejected the prosecutor’s motion to detain the suspect. The prosecutor said it has additional information on the suspect that would warrant his pre-trial detention, but refused to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. The prosecutor said it has appealed the court’s decision to release the suspect.

The Budapest Regional Court told MTI that there is no evidence to suggest that the suspect has any connection to criminal or terrorist organisations, nor is there any evidence to suggest that the case can be linked to any other ongoing investigation. The court said there was no information to indicate that any of the suspects held extremist views or had connections abroad. The suspect whom the court wanted to detain did not have a criminal record.

The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) party said it would file a complaint against TEK saying that it deliberately misled the public by implying that it had apprehended Islamic extremists. Lawmaker Agnes Vadai said that Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “private army had failed” and that TEK chief Janos Hajdu had embarrassed Hungarian police officers.

Lazar: EC attacks Hungary with infringement procedures

Lazar said while he trusted that this was not an “act of revenge” coming from those who had “failed in immigration policy and in stopping immigration”, it was difficult not to see it that way.

The Paks nuclear plant “is well and going forward, thank you very much,” he said, adding that consultations are ongoing with the committee and Hungary is ready for a compromise. It is vital to maintain the nuclear plant’s capacity level and to keep the plant in state ownership from the point of view of ensuring affordable power for consumers.

Answering a question, Lazar said the EU cannot make Hungary drop its utility cuts programme through an infringement procedure initiated in the wake of complaints by energy providers, but “there are chances that the state should provide compensation to cover their losses”. That, however, cannot impact consumers, he added.

To another question, Lazar said Russia stopping gas supplies to Ukraine did not affect transit shipments and Hungary had a safe supply.