On Monday, Parliament has stripped László Varju, DK’s (Democratic Coalition) deputy leader of his immunity, as he is suspected of causing serious bodily harm at an opposition protest at the public media headquarters last December. At the same time, András Aradszki has lost his immunity due to negligence in a car accident. In both cases, newly re-elected chief prosecutor Péter Polt has asked Parliament to suspend their immunity, and Parliament accepted the motion in both cases on the recommendation of the immunity committee.
According to the prosecutor’s office, László Varju “ran into the wall of security guards and squeezed the calf of one of them.” According to the document, later on, Varju attempted to force entry into the editorial section and “violently opposed” security staff. The prosecution admits that Varju was later forcefully removed from the premises, as he refused to leave. When he was caught, one of the security officers fell on the ground with him. The guard had fallen on his shoulder, which caused severe injuries. The injury is grounds for charging Varju for causing serious bodily harm and rowdy behaviour once his immunity is removed.
You can watch the video of the event below:
DK’s parliamentary group spokesman Zsolt Gréczy called the request “outrageous and repulsive.” Adding that “Orbán’s dictatorship has reached a new level,” and called on the whole opposition to show solidarity with Varju.
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According to the opposition, the charge is nonsense, so they refused to vote on the motion. What is more, they expressed their support to Varju with a kind of protective wall, standing next to the politician.
However, the immunity committee urged Parliament to waive the Varju’s immunity. The DK politician spoke in front of the Parliament, saying that Fidesz gave an unworthy answer to the challenges of the rule of law, thus filling key positions with their own people, serving their own interests, trying to disarm their political opponents in sham criminal proceedings. He also referred to Péter Polt’s re-election and the tasks the Chief Prosecutor had failed to do. He stated:
I did not commit any crime. Obviously the prosecution is working on the demotion of an opposition representative from Újpest.
After all this, Parliament stripped Varjú of his immunity with 138 in favour, and 4 against.
The committee’s chairman said before the pro-government Aradszki’s case, that, although the politician had hit a motorcyclist who broke his cheekbone, “the MP has acted very carefully” except for ignoring the priority sign. However, the immunity of the deputy leader of the KDNP was also suspended by Parliament, with 181 votes in favor and 1 against.
featured photo: László Varju Official Facebook
