Share this page!

Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture
Twitter logo
18 Apr, 8 tweets, 4 min read
1/ While many countries show solidarity with Czechia & condemn Russia for the GRU operation killing two people in Vrbětice in 2014, don’t expect similar gestures from the pro-Kremlin Orbán government.

Here’s what Hungary did after the Skripal poisoning:
direkt36.hu/en/latszolag-o…
2/ Hungary never makes public its expulsion of Russian spies, we do so-called “silent expulsions” to mitigate any conflict with Moscow. This is the result of Orbán’s balancing act between Hungary’s NATO responsibilities and his pro-Kremlin foreign policy.

direkt36.hu/en/orosz-diplo…
3/ Hungary’s civilian counterintelligence, AH, under direct government controll, hasn’t caught Russian spies in ages.

It’s only Hungary’s small military security service, KNBSZ, that steps up against the GRU - because they have a strong attachment to NATO’s command structure.
4/ Hungary’s most famous Russian spy, former MEP Béla Kovács never spent a day in jail as the counterintelligence investigation against him was essentially sabotaged by the Orbán government’s political leadership. vsquare.org/the-great-esca…
5/ In 2017, I already reported that the spy case against Béla Kovács won’t result in serious sentencing as the investigation into him was sabotaged, the counterintelligence was not let collect enough evidence against him.

And in 2020, voilà:
hungarytoday.hu/bela-kovacs-es…
6/ Former head of operations at Hungary’s counterintelligence (AH) Ferenc Katrein came out in an explosive on the record interview in 2017 talking about how operations against Russian espionage in Hungary are obstructed on a political level. Worth a read:
index.hu/english/2017/0…
7/ Hungary also experienced how dangerous the GRU could be.

In late 2016, the head of a neo-Nazi group killed a Hungarian police officer during a shootout.

His paramilitary organization received weapons, training & money from undercover GRU agents.
index.hu/english/2016/1…
8/ Here’s the most comprehensive article on how Orbán built his Russian ties, by @andraspe & @AndrasSzab.

The most shocking revelation is that Viktor Orbán sent his oligarch friend to Moscow to establish contact with the FSB weeks before he came to power.
direkt36.hu/en/orban-jatsz…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Szabolcs Panyi

Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @panyiszabolcs

Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture
22 Mar
The personal story of Michael Kovrig, who just stood trial in Beijing, is just extraordinary.

Michael was imprisoned by China’s communist regime in December 2018.

His grandfather, János Kovrig was arrested and sent to labour camp during Hungary’s communist takeover.

THREAD
2/ Today, Kovrig stood trial in China after 2 years in detention. The Canadian ex-diplomat who works for @CrisisGroup is widely seen as a victim of hostage diplomacy - his arrest in Beijing came days after Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada.
bbc.com/news/world-asi…
3/ Michael Kovrig, born in Canada, is the son of a Hungarian immigrant. Michael also holds a Hungarian (hence an EU) citizenship.

However, this is rarely known, partly because Hungary’s pro-Chinese gov't never once spoke publicly about Michael’s arrest: direkt36.hu/en/kemjatszmak…
Read 21 tweets
Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture
9 Dec 20
Why is Germany brokering an EU budget deal that lets Hungary off the hook & makes virtually impossible to sanction Orban’s rule of law breaches?

German companies were actually instrumental in building Orban's system from which they benefit hugely. THREAD direkt36.hu/en/a-magyar-ne…
2/ I published my in-depth reporting on Germany's automotive industry and Hungary a few months ago.

One main takeaway is that “executives of several German carmakers (...) absolutely feel that the Hungarian government is in their pockets”, a German business source told.
3/ Whenever the German automotive industry needs some lobbying in Brussels, Viktor Orban is there to help them out.

"Orban defends the interests of German car manufacturers in the European Council”, a former senior Hungarian government official told. Image
Read 13 tweets
Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture
4 Dec 20
1/ It seems that József Szájer’s scandal is triggering a possibly more serious one in Hungary.

Fidesz founder Zsolt Bayer (center), a friend of Szájer, told in a TV show that Szájer has been “fighting with his horrible demons” for a long time.

Then he mentioned pedophilia...
2/ After talking about Szájer’s “downward spiral", pundit Zsolt Bayer told a story about an unnamed "old friend and comrade” who came out to him, then “said that he likes going to Thailad because young boys are also available”. Opposition MPs instantly filed for criminal charges.
3/ “This is pedophilia and Bayer knew about it for 20 years”, opposition MP Bernadett Szel commented and filed a police report, asking investigators to summon Bayer for a questioning. Bayer instantly reacted by saying that he wasn’t talking about a politician but an “old friend”.
Read 7 tweets
Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture
1 Dec 20
1/ Why does it matter that Viktor Orbán’s close friend and ally, MEP József Szájer was caught having an orgy with 20+ men? Very simple. While he was enjoying himself in LGBT-friendly Brussels, he made life for LGBT people in Hungary miserable by rewriting the constitution. THREAD
2/ After Viktor Orbán came to power in 2010, Szájer famously drafted a new constitution for Hungary on his iPad (yes, really), becoming the legal architect of Orbán’s regime. There was no consultation with the opposition or anyone outside the government.
intellinews.com/prominent-orba…
3/ Here’s the English version of Hungary’s (Szájer’s) constitution. 'Article L' on "protecting the institution of marriage as the union of a man and a woman" was inserted, essentially making it impossible for gay couples to get married. But that’s not all.
njt.hu/translated/doc…
Read 12 tweets
Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture
17 Nov 20
It's often overlooked that linking EU funds to rule of law is a very personal threat to Viktor Orbán and his family too.

In recent years, my colleagues at @direkt36 have uncovered in details how EU funds enriched the Orbáns: the father, the brother and the son-in-law. THREAD.
2/ Győző Orbán Sr., the PM’s father made tens of millions of euros through Hungarian public works projects funded by EU money.

Orbán's companies were always sub-contractors or suppliers, hence they could avoid appearing in public databases for years.
direkt36.hu/en/rejtett-all…
3/ After a 3-year-long public information lawsuit, @direkt36 received additional documents related to the businesses of Orbán’s father. It turned out that he benefited from a road construction which was criticized by the EU due to its extremely high costs.
direkt36.hu/en/meg-a-korma…
Read 13 tweets
Szabolcs Panyi Profile picture
16 Nov 20
1/ Today’s big news is that Hungary will veto the next EU budget over its rule of law conditionalty.

Hungary has been increasingly using its veto power in the EU in recent years, however, these were under-the-radar issues for the general public.

Here are some of them. Thread. Image
2/ Orbán’s government is not only fighting EU criticism of Hungary’s very own rule of law situation.

Hungary regularly blocked or threatened to veto similar EU attempts against key allies and strategic partners like China, the Trump-led U.S., Israel, or Belarus.
3/ China is the most spectacular example. Hungary regularly defends the regime against EU condemnation over human rights issues.

In March 2017, Hungary alone prevented the EU from signing a petition protesting the torture of detained lawyers in China. washingtonpost.com/news/worldview…
Read 17 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @panyiszabolcs has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @panyiszabolcs!

Read all threads by @panyiszabolcs