Accusing investigative journalists of espionage is unprecedented, this is the hallmark of Putin's Russia, accused journalist says

“Accusing investigative journalists of espionage is completely unprecedented for a European Union member state in the 21st century. This is the hallmark of Putin’s Russia, Belarus, and similar regimes.”

This is how journalist Szabolcs Panyi began his lengthy post titled “A statement and request for assistance to potential sources” after Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás announced at Thursday’s government press briefing that the government had filed a criminal complaint against him for espionage. According to the minister, it became clear that the journalist had been spying against his own country in collaboration with a foreign state.

On Monday morning, pro-government Mandiner published an audio recording intended to be incriminating, in which Panyi – an investigative journalist with Direkt36 and VSquare – and an unidentified female voice can be heard. In the recording, the journalist discusses, among other things, having a contact with a government agency of an EU country, but the pro-government press soon framed the story as Panyi having given Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s phone number to a foreign intelligence service. On Monday, Viktor Orbán instructed Justice Minister Bence Tuzson to immediately investigate the information regarding the wiretapping of Péter Szijjártó. According to Gulyás, the justice minister informed the government that he would file a complaint against Szabolcs Panyi for espionage.

​​In a post made after Gulyás's announcement, Panyi wrote that for more than a decade, he has been documenting how Russian spies and interests are infiltrating Hungarian politics, and that he is not in the least surprised by this development; however, despite his belief that the Hungarian government is acting as an ally of the Kremlin, he remains confident that “the Hungarian justice system still intends to comply with the Hungarian constitution, and not that of the Russian Federation.”

He said the accusation was completely untrue, and added that this now forces him to share more details about his investigation, “as part of which I had a conversation with a confidential source that was apparently recorded using covert intelligence methods.” He wrote that he has been investigating Péter Szijjártó and Russian officials since 2023 with regard to their connections that may have gone beyond “legal boundaries,” and although the edited audio recording published by Mandiner also mentions that communications between Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were recorded by European Union intelligence agencies, the part where he talks about “there being a strong suspicion that political intelligence has been gathered and influence operations have been conducted on behalf of Russia” were left out.

In his post, Panyi also mentions a case he believes is even more serious than the current one, involving significant money transfers from Russia to Hungary, in which government agencies and government officials may also be implicated. We have sent questions about the matter to the Government’s Information Center and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Panyi claimed that to his knowledge, "since at least 2016–2017, intelligence agencies within the EU and NATO have received information indicating that large sums of cash and precious stones may be arriving from Russia on Hungarian government aircraft or private jets used by Hungarian governmental figures. Officials from at least six different countries have reported such information”. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Telex’s inquiry on the matter by simply saying: 'That's ridiculous".

According to the journalist, the Orbán government accused him of espionage as a "preemptive strike" because they knew about his investigation into the subject. But he insists that even legal threats will not deter him, and he called on the public to contact him via a “secure channel” if they have information regarding the case mentioned in his post.

Previously, responding to the government’s accusations of espionage after Mandiner’s publication of the recording, Panyi told Telex: “I had absolutely nothing to do with the wiretapping of Szijjártó – it took me years and considerable effort to finally obtain evidence of this communication. Besides, practically everyone knows Szijjártó’s number, including the director of the smallest foreign company in Hungary.”

In the leaked recording, the journalist spoke about having a good relationship with the Tisza Party’s foreign policy expert, Anita Orbán, whom he referred to as his “quasi-friend.” The journalist later explained that he was actually trying to “show off and impress” his contact with being well-connected in the hope of getting more information, but in reality, he had only met the Tisza Party’s expert twice.

In relation to Panyi's case, Péter Szijjártó said it was shocking that “one or more foreign intelligence agencies had wiretapped me with the active cooperation of a Hungarian journalist.” All this happened two days after the Washington Post reported that Szijjártó regularly consults by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during breaks in EU meetings about what is being discussed there. Politico later reported, based on statements from several EU diplomats, that EU decision-makers are looking to exclude Hungary from sensitive negotiations because they fear the Hungarian government is leaking information to Russia.

In response to a question from Mandiner about whether they plan to expel Szabolcs Panyi on Thursday, Gulyás said that if “someone is acting as a foreign spy,” then expulsion is possible, but if a Hungarian citizen does so, it is more difficult because there is nowhere to expel them to.

Gulyás: IT is a “cover ”; in reality, these are exposed spies

At the government’s press briefing on Thursday, Gergely Gulyás said that there are currently two espionage scandals unfolding in Hungary. He said “the other two spies” are the two IT specialists who had worked for the Tisza Party. The minister was referring to an article published by Direkt36 on Tuesday, which exposed an organized operation aimed at taking down the Tisza Party’s IT system; when the two IT specialists assisting the party – a 19-year-old and a 38-year-old man – attempted to thwart this, police proceedings were initiated against them under pressure from the secret service, on what appears to be trumped-up charges, including suspicion of involvement in child pornography.

Bence Szabó, a senior investigator with the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NNI) cybercrime division, recounted in detail in front of the cameras of Direkt36 how this search – initiated under pressure from the secret service – unfolded, and how the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (AH) kept attempting to interfere with the investigation on multiple occasions. Szabó was charged with abuse of office early Wednesday morning, and a search was conducted at his home.

According to Gulyás, just as journalism was a “cover” for Panyi, IT work is also a “cover” for the two IT specialists at the Tisza Party – they are, in fact, exposed spies. He said they were trained abroad and frequently visited the Ukrainian embassy; they acquired equipment suitable for wiretapping, which requires a license and is illegal, and also attempted to purchase illegal spyware. According to Gulyás, the secret service’s task is to track spies and uncover their activities.

Gulyás also noted that the investigator disclosed details of a counterintelligence operation; his motivation is unknown, but it is certain that his act constitutes a criminal offense. “Espionage is an attempt by a foreign state to interfere,” he said, adding that it is no coincidence that this happened before the elections. He said that the authorities must always take action against spies.

Orbán: Zelensky should recall his agents

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a message to the Ukrainian President in a short video."I call on Mr. Zelensky to recall his agents immediately and to respect the will of the Hungarian people."

Orbán then spoke about Zelensky having transformed Hungary into an area of secret service operation, and accused him of having activated his undercover agents. He also repeated that the Ukrainian spies are going in-and out of the Tisza Party as they please, and said that Hungary has never before seen an election in which foreign intelligence services had interfered so deeply.