Orbán's party adds his detained brother to Hungary's 'political prisoners' list
Hungary's Fidesz party has added Áron Orbán, the younger brother of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, to its list of alleged political prisoners after police detained him in a migrant-smuggling investigation.
Hungarian news outlet HVG reported on Nov. 10 that Áron Orbán's name and photograph had appeared on the list published on the party's website.
The list now contains five people, although its accompanying description still refers to "four political prisoners" being held in custody or pretrial detention.
The other four are Balázs Bús, Balázs Hankó, Veronika Varga-Bajusz and Miklós Seszták.
Bús, Hankó and Varga-Bajusz were jailed in connection with an investigation into the alleged improper distribution of 17 billion forints (approximately $52.7 million) in funding from Hungary's National Cultural Fund. Seszták is suspected of corruption involving the bus company Volánbusz.
Hungarian police detained Áron Orbán and three other suspects on Nov. 9. The National Bureau of Investigation suspects Orbán of migrant smuggling and has requested that he be placed under arrest.
Counterterrorism officers from Hungary's Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) took part in the operation because Orbán is also involved in arms trading and authorities believed weapons might be present at the property, HVG reported.
No shots were fired. TEK subsequently released footage of the four suspects being detained.
A photographer for HVG also captured Áron Orbán arriving at a Budapest detention facility in the back of a police vehicle on Monday evening.
Fidesz described the detention as an escalation in a political crackdown, referring to the authorities using the name ÁVH — the acronym of Hungary's former communist-era secret police.
The party's website mentioned only briefly that police were investigating a migrant-smuggling case.
Viktor Orbán accused the authorities of using his younger brother to target him politically.
"The target is me, and my younger brother is merely a tool," the former prime minister said.
The migrant-smuggling allegations remain under investigation. Fidesz's description of Áron Orbán as a political prisoner reflects the party's position, not an established legal finding.
- Share: