Spy Scandal Rocks Hungarian Election Campaign: Charges Filed, Raids Conducted
The Hungarian government has filed espionage charges against investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi, while it has emerged that intelligence services pressured authorities to raid the homes of IT specialists working for the Tisza party – just two weeks before the April 12 elections.
Espionage Charges Filed
Two weeks before the April 12 parliamentary elections, Hungarian political life has taken an unprecedented turn. Justice Minister Bence Tuzson has filed a criminal complaint against Szabolcs Panyi, an investigative journalist at Direkt36, on suspicion of espionage, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyás announced at the government press conference on March 26.
The government's position is that Panyi committed a crime by facilitating the wiretapping of Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó's phone for a foreign intelligence agency. Gulyás stated unequivocally: "This is not investigative journalism, this is espionage." The charge carries a sentence of 2 to 8 years in prison.
Szabolcs Panyi has strongly denied the allegations. In his reaction to Telex, he stated: "Accusing investigative journalists of espionage is unprecedented in the European Union – it is more characteristic of Putin's Russia." The National Association of Hungarian Journalists (MÚOSZ) also protested against the move, standing up for the journalist.
Raids on Tisza IT Specialists – Political Operation Instead of Child Pornography
The other strand of the case emerged from Direkt36's investigative work. According to their investigation published on March 24, the National Bureau of Investigation conducted a search of the homes of two IT specialists working for the Tisza party – a 19-year-old and a 38-year-old – in the summer of 2025 on suspicion of child pornography. The raid was initiated and urged by the Constitutional Protection Office.
No child pornography material was found on the dozen or so devices seized. However, what they did find was much more disturbing: messages from a person operating under the pseudonym "Henry," who tried to recruit the younger IT specialist to sabotage the Tisza party's internal systems. Henry's goal was to take over the party's entire IT infrastructure before the elections.
The investigation also revealed that Henry accurately predicted the data leak from the Tisza Discord server, which later actually occurred. The IT specialists tried to document the operation against them with a belt equipped with a hidden camera – this was confiscated by the police, who then charged them with "unauthorized use of military technology equipment."
Electoral Stakes and International Repercussions
According to Bloomberg, the espionage charges fundamentally shake up the final stage of the election campaign, while Viktor Orbán faces the biggest challenge of his 16-year rule. Péter Magyar, the president of the Tisza party, called the developments "Orbán-gate," comparing the case to the Watergate scandal.
Viktor Orbán called on President Zelensky in a video message to "order his agents home" and accused the Ukrainian intelligence service of interfering in the operation of the Tisza party. According to Euronews, the government has labeled both Panyi and the Tisza IT specialists as Ukrainian spies.
Gergely Gulyás himself acknowledged the absurdity of the situation at the government press conference: "In Hungary today, the news is mostly about spies." The crisis of confidence between the government and the opposition is deepening, while opinion polls show the Tisza party leading by double digits – and there are only two weeks left until the vote.
