Sándor Bangó, a former resident of the Szőlő Street correctional institution, had previously only hinted that he had been raped as a child in the institution by a senior politician. In the early hours of this morning, however, he named the man in question: Zsolt Semjén, Hungary’s former Deputy PM and opposition Christian KDNP’s chairman. Although his post carries an ominous message, according to Péter Juhász, former Együtt-politician and Bangó’s representative, he is well, and anyone wishing him well should not try to contact him now.
The “Uncle Zsolti” allegation emerges
Bangó Sándor’s name is not new to Hungarian public life, nor is the “Uncle Zsolti” figure he has now identified. It was Gábor Kuslits, former director of Budapest’s child protection service, who first mentioned in an interview with Válasz Online that Péter Juhász Pál, the former director of the Szőlő Street correctional institution, had been protected by two senior politicians. In return, boys were “supplied” to one of them and girls to the other. Kuslits, however, admitted in the interview that this was nothing more than unchecked hearsay.
After that, Péter Juhász, formerly of Együtt, a Hungarian liberal party, published a video about the Ózd children’s home, where, according to János Látó, who describes himself as a pastor, a senior politician had been visiting for sexual purposes. Látó said this to him on the basis of what two boys brought up there had told him, one of whom referred to the man as Uncle Zsolti. Juhász also suggested that this story could not be proven. It later emerged that Látó’s credibility was, at the very least, questionable, Telex reports.
János Látó speaks in Kossuth Square:
Nevertheless, the Uncle Zsolti allegation has irreversibly entered public consciousness, and DK’s Gergely Arató immediately questioned then deputy prime minister Zsolt Semjén about it. He dismissed it as a “Beelzebub allegation” and rejected even the implication. To this day, no one has succeeded in finding evidence for Uncle Zsolti’s existence or identity.
The former Szőlő Street resident speaks out
Bangó Sándor gave an interview to Kontroll, close to Márton Magyar, the brother of Prime Minister Péter Magyar, on 24 April. In it, he said he had entered the institution at the age of 14 or 15, and claimed that Péter Juhász Pál repeatedly raped him and then prostituted him, including to Uncle Zsolti. On the basis of this testimony, he became the key witness in proceedings against Péter Juhász Pál.
He said the incidents took place in the dark, but on one occasion, when he switched on the light, he also saw the perpetrator’s face. He even named the man to the editorial staff, but they did not make it public because of the investigation.
A “senior politician”: the key witness in the Szőlő Street abuse case has come forward
Two weeks later, Bangó gave testimony at the Budapest Regional Investigative Prosecutor’s Office, where he said he identified Uncle Zsolti and declared that he would also undergo a lie detector test. This did not happen, however, because of his mental state, which immediately raises legitimate questions about his claims.
He revealed who Uncle Zsolti is — but can he be believed?
At the time, he also said that on 9 July, when he left for America, he would reveal publicly who Uncle Zsolti was. According to him, he did not do so at the firm request of the prosecution.
But something seems to have happened, because in the early hours of this morning he posted on his TikTok page that Uncle Zsolti is none other than Zsolt Semjén, Orbán Viktor’s former deputy prime minister and leader of the KDNP. Fidesz-KDNP immediately issued a statement describing the claim as an absurd lie, obvious political manipulation and defamation. In their view, Bangó is himself a victim, but the gravest responsibility therefore lies not with him, but with his “political exploiters and instigators”. On Tuesday morning, several KDNP MPs posted Facebook messages with the same wording, saying: “We stand by Zsolt Semjén! Zsolt Semjén is innocent!”
Pedofidesz.