The former politician was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for a period of five years.Continue reading
Former Jobbik MEP Béla Kovács, who was found guilty of espionage for Russia, now lives and works in Moscow, according to pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet. He says he will definitely come home for his trial at the Supreme Court and is optimistic regarding his acquittal.
Béla Kovács’s case dates back to 2014, when Hungary’s internal security intelligence agency filed a report against him after it was revealed by the civil national security services that he had regularly met with Russian diplomats and paid monthly visits to Moscow.
Kovács’s immunity, often dubbed as “KGBéla” in the Hungarian press, was revoked by the European Parliament in October 2015, with charges filed against him on suspicion that he had spied against EU institutions for Russia between 2012 and 2014.
Although in 2020 the court of first instance acquitted the former politician of espionage and only sentenced him for defrauding the EP budget (for employing interns in Brussels who never turned up there, nor did any work), in June of last year a court of appeals changed the verdict and also found Kovács guilty of calculated espionage, increasing his suspended prison term to two years with a probation period of five years.
The former MEP has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and appealed to the Supreme Court (Kúria). For the time being, he is not aware if the Kúria has set the date for his case, but he promised to definitely come home for the trial. He says it is important for him to be present when it will be established that he wasn’t a spy, nor was he involved in espionage.
When the second instance trial was held, he couldn’t be present since had suffered a stroke and underwent surgery in the Russian capital, but now he is perfectly well, he says.
As of now, he lives in Moscow and teaches international relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (his former university), because he “has to make a living.”
“I was born Hungarian and will remain Hungarian, even if I live in Moscow now,” he said.
featured image via Tamás Kovács/MTI