Hungary prosecutors raid Fidesz data servers, party says
Hungary's former ruling Fidesz party says prosecutors unexpectedly raided its data servers on Tuesday, in a move it described as targeting the party's communications systems and databases. The alleged raid took place at a data centre hosting Fidesz servers, according to the party statement. The claim comes as Hungary's new government pushes ahead with an anti-corruption drive after Viktor Orban's party lost power in April.
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Fidesz said investigators from the prosecutor's office arrived unannounced with the intention of seizing the party's entire communications system and databases. The party said there had been no precedent for such an action in Hungary since 1990, when communist rule ended. Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on social media that he had learned of the alleged raid from Fidesz and was awaiting a statement from the prosecutor's office.
The episode adds to a period of sharp political change in Hungary after Magyar's landslide election victory over Orban in April. Magyar's Tisza party won a two-thirds majority in parliament and has moved quickly to loosen Orban's influence over state institutions. His government has also passed anti-corruption measures and changed the constitution to effectively bar Orban from running again.
The dispute is significant because it involves both a major opposition-turned-former governing party and the prosecutor's office at a time when the new administration says it is trying to address corruption. Magyar has vowed to pursue figures who enabled corruption and recover public assets from those who illegally acquired them. Fidesz, meanwhile, has accused Magyar's moves of being autocratic, a charge that was often levelled against Orban during his own time in office.
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The reported raid also highlights the continuing political sensitivity around institutions that hold party data and communications records. Fidesz was in power for 16 years under Orban before being swept from office in the April vote. Since then, the new pro-European conservative government has sought to reverse what it describes as the lingering grip of the former leader on the country's political system.
It remains unclear whether prosecutors have issued any formal statement or what, if anything, was seized during the operation. The party's account has not been independently detailed in the supplied material, and the exact legal basis for the alleged raid is not yet known. What happens next will depend on whether the prosecutor's office confirms the action and whether it becomes part of a wider anti-corruption investigation.
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