US entry ban – Prosecution asks for suspension of Goodfriend’s immunity

Budapest, December 22 (MTI) – The public prosecutor has asked Hungary’s foreign ministry to take steps to initiate the suspension of the diplomatic immunity of US charge d’affaires Andre Goodfriend in connection with a complaint by tax authority chief Ildiko Vida, the prosecutor’s office told MTI.

The Hungarian ministry can request from the US State Department that it should lift Goodfriend’s immunity for the duration of the investigation.

Vida is suing Goodfriend for “defamation causing serious damage”.

Under Hungarian law, the investigation is suspended until the request regarding the diplomat’s immunity is reviewed and if the request is denied by the US side, the investigation will be closed, said a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

Goodfriend said in an interview on Dec. 4 that the United States had information about fraudulent activities within the Hungarian tax authority, which have not been investigated. The diplomat also insisted that the US had documented evidence and had shared that information with the Hungarian government.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in response that he expected Vida to sue Goodfriend after she was listed on the entry ban because it suggests she was personally involved in graft.

The opposition Egyutt (Together) party called the prosecutor’s request to the US “outrageous”, and said in a statement that “the chief public prosecutor must not be an accomplice to the government in hiding perpetrators in the US entry scandal”.

The prosecutor’s office had better focus on identifying the other five officials banned from the US under similar charges, Egyutt said in its statement. Hungary’s prosecutors should also launch investigations into the corruption cases in connection with the ban and ask US authorities for “proper” legal aid, the document added.

Photo: nyelvtanulas-kulfoldon.blog.hu

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters