The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (juri) is scheduled to vote today on whether to lift the immunity of five parliamentary members, including Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyaru and Italian left-wing fire truck Ilaria Salis.
Juli’s 25 lawmakers secretly vote on seven requests to remove immunity and recommend whether to approve or reject them.
The final decision on each case is then made by the Congress and all MEPs can confirm or reverse the votes of colleagues on the Juri Committee. If their immunity is exempt, the national authorities can proceed with legal proceedings against the MEP, but they will still maintain their seats.
Three of the seven requests are aimed at Hungarian MEP Peter Magar, founder and leader of the opposition Tisa Party.
The Hungarian judiciary has also issued a request to waive immunity from socialist Hungarian MEP Klára Dobrev and Salis, the Italian lawmaker of the left group.
The remaining two demands relate to Michał Dworczyk and Daniel Obajtek, both conservative Polish party law and justice (PIS), who were hoping for by the Polish authorities.
Peter Hungary claims it is “politics.”
Hungarian authorities have it I asked The European Parliament lifted the immunity of Magyaru three times.
The first request was sent from the Hungarian prosecutor’s chief office and is linked to allegations that Majal threw the man’s phone into the Danube after Magyaru discussed at a Budapest nightclub with the man filming him.
The second lawsuit against him relates to György Simonka, a former member of the Hungarian Parliament. The third lawsuit launched by our far-right homeland movement in Hungary is also for honour and losses.
If Magyar lost his immunity, the Hungarian authorities could investigate and claim him for these crimes. The Tissa Party is the biggest challenge to the power of Victor Orban’s Fides in Hungary, and recent opinions indicate whether Tissa is currently being done.
“I think it’s clear to everyone that this is a political issue. I’m a 44-year-old lawyer with three children. I have had national security clearance for over half of the last 20 years, with a clean record and for my work and my ex-wife. I insisted When he was quized to the Juli Committee, he mentioned his ex-wife, Hungarian Justice Minister Judi Barga.
However, Magyaru is unlikely to lose his immunity. He is part of the Central Right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in Parliament, and will likely be defended by Socialists and Democrats, Renewal Europe, and Green/EFA.
Ilaria Salis at risk immunity
The Ilaria Salis case may prove more risky.
The Italian lawmaker was arrested in Budapest in February 2023 on the sidelines of an anti-fascist demonstration held on the so-called Honor Day.
At the time, Saris was a teacher and human rights activist who spent time squatting in Northern Italy. She spent more than 15 months in pre-trial detention in Hungary, claiming she suffered from extremely harsh conditions and human rights violations.
Footage of her being tried in chains and accusations of abuse in a Hungarian prison sparked rage in Italy, leading the government to summon Hungarian ambassadors, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni I raised the issue With Victor Orban of Hungary.
Thanks to her popular mobilization, Saris was elected to the European Parliament in June 2024 with the Alliance Green Left (AVS) Party, joining the Left Group and regaining her freedom through parliamentary immunity.
Hungarian law allows elected MEPs to be seated, but months after the election, Hungarian authorities asked the European Parliament to lift their immunity to end the trial. If this happens, Saris is at risk of being detained again.
“In Budapest, in a country where the judiciary is not independent and the head of government declares guilt even before the initial intervention ruling, we will face the Shaw trial without the most basic democratic safeguards.
Last week, Zoltan Kovacs, an international spokesman for Orban, Hungary. Posted In X, it is the geographical coordinates of the Márianosztra prison, suggesting that this is where MEP Salis ends.
According to Parliamentary sources, in this case the EPP was able to support the request for exemption, the vote between right-wing European conservatives and reformists (ECRs) and European far-right patriots (PFEs).
Klara Dobrev is also under scrutiny
Socialist MEP Klára Dobrev is also at the heart of Hungary’s legal debate. She was charged in March 2024 with a public honour-loss crime after claiming she was involved in a pedophile scandal that led to the decline of Hungarian President Katalin Novark and Justice Minister Judith Barga. Hungarian authorities I asked Congress lifted her immunity a year ago.
MEP Tineke Strik of Greens/EFA Group, the reporter for the Hungarian legal situation, argues that all requests proposed by the Hungarian judiciary are politically motivated.
“The rule of law is not respected at all in Hungary. Judicial bodies like the Prosecutor’s Office and the Supreme Court are completely captured (by political power) and therefore, even if the judges at the trial judges made a sincere judgment, the government could have got what they wanted at a higher level,” she told Euronews.
Polish far-right MEP claims “political revenge”
Two MEPs at PIS under scrutiny also argue the political motivation behind their demands to waive their immunity.
MichałDworczyk was a victim of a Cyber Attack In 2021, he was the head of former Polish Prime Minister Mateus Morawiekki’s cabinet, and his private inbox was hacked and leaked online.
After the helm of Warsaw, new prosecutor, Justice Minister Adam Bodner Conclusion In a cyber attack, Dworczyk is unable to fulfill his duties as a state official, acting in a way that undermines public interest, obstructs criminal proceedings and “using communications to use uncertified, unsecured private mailboxes.”
Minister Bodner also called for the release of MEP Daniel Obagitek’s immunity. Obajtek has been accused of false testimony in court and illegally restricting the distribution of left-wing magazines no At the gas station belonging to Orlen, he is a multinational oil refinery where he was the CEO.
“The hideout (in that magazine) seced the cross. Whether it angered the religious feelings of Christians, Muslims or Jews, I would have made the same decision. The office of the Polish prosecutor wants to strip me of my immunity just because I opposed my religious feelings.
