Budapest’s prosecution office of investigation has questioned János Hajdu, the former head of counter-terrorism force TEK, as a suspect in connection with the detention of Ukrainian money couriers, the Central Prosecution Office of Investigation told MTI on Monday.
Ukrainian detainees handcuffed for at least nine hours without reason
Hajdu is suspected of illegal detention and is believed to have issued instructions on 4 March to TEK officers to hold up a Ukrainian shipment of a large amount of cash and gold bars in transit from Austria to Ukraine, at the request of the national tax authority (NAV). Hajdu instructed the officers to detain the Ukrainian couriers handcuffed and blindfolded, according to the charges, the Hungarian news agency wrote.
The prosecution said in a statement uploaded on Facebook that, as head of the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK), Hajdu was aware that the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) did not intend to carry out any further procedural actions against the seven Ukrainian nationals who had been detained, and merely sought to question them as witnesses.
“The Director-General was also aware that customs officers had repeatedly requested that the handcuffs be removed from the Ukrainians, who had already been questioned as witnesses, and had indicated that no further investigative steps were planned. Nevertheless, the Director-General of TEK continued to uphold the deprivation of their personal liberty, despite the fact that NAV — as the investigating authority — had imposed no such restriction,” the prosecution said.
Violation of human dignity
Despite this, he instructed his subordinates to continue depriving the Ukrainian nationals of their liberty for at least a further nine hours, and to keep them in handcuffs even while they slept. This was entirely unnecessary and constituted a grave violation of human dignity.
The investigating prosecutor’s office has formally charged the Director-General of TEK with seven counts of unlawful detention committed in a manner involving the ill-treatment of the victims.
Hajdu pleaded not guilty at his hearing and lodged an appeal against the charges. The suspect is free on bail. The communications director of opposition Fidesz said the criminal proceedings against Hajdu were “political retaliation” by the ruling Tisza Party.
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Orbán talks about political showdown
Bertalan Havasi insisted that under the previous, Fidesz-led government, Hungarian authorities had put an end to a practice in which “thousands of billions of forints worth of hard currency and gold transited Hungary … facilitated by Ukraine’s secret services and military since the beginning of the war”. “In any normal country the officers would deserve a medal, but the incumbent government is acting on behalf of Ukraine,” he suggested.
Former PM Orbán spoke of a political showdown orchestrated by the new Prime Minister and his Tisza Party against Hajdu, a general who served his country with honour. He wrote that what Hajdú did in the case of the Ukrainian gold convoy deserved a decoration rather than persecution. He said Hajdú is a role model for all those who love their country.
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The hijacking of the convoy was a clear criminal act. Hajdu is at high risk of jail time and there is no way he can say that he acted independently. He will be under high pressure to disclose who (Orban) instructed him to do what he did. If he doesn’t disclose the court will apply a more severe sentence. He’s screwed. It will be interesting to see if he coughs up Orban’s name.